


The Price of Love

by Highgreenbunny, TNCollabs



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Aged-Up Character(s), Awkwardness, Healing, Japanese names, M/M, Post-Canon, Psychological Trauma, RP Turned Fic, References to Addiction, Slow Burn, Takeru and Hikari are little shits, Underage Drinking, a lot of misunderstandings, eventual smut (optional chapters), sub-plot in later chapters, this is a long fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2019-07-28 14:16:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 111,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16243358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Highgreenbunny/pseuds/Highgreenbunny, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TNCollabs/pseuds/TNCollabs
Summary: The loss of their Digimon after the gate had closed permanently was hard enough. Now with Daisuke seeking dangerous thrills to try and re-experience the rush of saving the Digital World again, the Chosen Children have a huge problem on their hands.





	1. And so it Begins

**Author's Note:**

> This story is an RP of ours that has been six years in the making! We hope you enjoy it as much as we did writing it.   
> -Highgreenbunny (Tabi) & TrippNessa (Nessa)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story is set 5 years after the events in 02. After defeating BelailVamdemon, the gate sealed permanately once again. Daisuke, Ken, Hikari, And Takeru are juniors, Miyako is a senior, and Iori is in middle school. All of the older Chosen Children are in college.

 

Ken closed the large math book on the library desk, smiling at how quickly he'd completed his school work for the night. Now he wouldn't have any homework when he got home from school, and since it was Friday it also meant that his weekend would be relaxed.

 

Ken no longer attended Tamachi Private Academy for Gifted Minds, and had instead transferred to the Odaiba school district with his friends a few years ago. He currently had straight A's, which was helping to recover his tarnished GPA from all the terrible grades he'd gotten at Tamachi Academy. A regular school may not be as 'prestigious' as a private one was, but he'd realized that getting all A's in Odaiba would still look far more impressive than all D's at an advanced one. The fact of the matter was, once that dark spore had been deactivated his mind was no longer that of a genius, and that wasn't going to change no matter how much he studied.

 

The slender boy looked up at the nearby clock on the school library wall and felt another smile cross his lips, a warmth filling his heart. His best friend Daisuke would be showing up pretty soon to head to his house and get help with the math homework he'd just finished. There was an unspoken agreement between them that anytime their math teacher gave them homework, he'd be coming over that night. Daisuke was good at many things that he put his mind to, but math was not one of them. Even at the tanned boy's best moments when he studied really hard, he still failed the tests if Ken didn't help him first. So, Ken would wait in the library and work on his homework until the other boy arrived. Daisuke usually took a while because gym was his last class and he had to shower and such.

 

The slender boy packed up his stuff and headed out into the hallway towards his locker, which was just on the other side of the hallway as the library’s front doors. Daisuke would see him if he happened to show up right then, so Ken opened it up and put his math book inside. He found himself spending a minute or so organizing the items in the locker after that, his tidiness getting the better of him. Once he shut the door he was a bit startled to find someone leaning up against the locker right next to him, the door having blocked his vision of them while it had been opened.

 

"Hey," Ken turned and smiled at his best friend. He felt the smile fade a bit, however, when his eyes traveled downward at the large bruise on his friend's right leg. What had he done to himself this time?

 

It’s been quite some time since Daisuke and the others had been to the Digital World. After their final battle Daisuke's heart was broken when he realized he would never see V-mon again. Not a day goes by where he doesn't think of the blue digimon or something in his everyday life reminds him of a time in the Digital World. Every visit their strengths and weaknesses were challenged, and through that the group grew closer.  
  
Without that, Daisuke feels a void. Now, when he is challenged, he will not back down. Even though he loves the rush, the feeling of pushing his limits, he noticed that his friends, especially Ken, did not. No matter how many times he tried to wave off bruises and scratches he received while doing these stupid acts, Ken always seemed to ask a lot of questions.  
  
Today was going to be no different. Daisuke exited the gym, and made his way to Ken's locker where he saw the indigo haired teen shuffling items around. Ken gave him a friendly greeting and sweet smile. But before Daisuke had a chance to say anything back Ken noticed the rather mean looking bruise on his right calf.  
  
Ken didn't have to say anything. Daisuke noticed how quickly his jogress partner's friendly smile was wiped off and replaced with concern. He looked down to where Ken's eyes laid and sighed, "It's nothing," he said, knowing Ken wasn't going to fall for that. He groaned, "Once of the guy challenged me to climb up the back of the stadium bleachers... and about half way down my shoe got caught and I fell, but I'm fine. Now, c'mon or we will miss the train!" he said trying to quickly end the one-sided conversation. He knew telling his friend this would upset him and he knew Ken wouldn't understand.

 

Ken just stared at the other boy, unable to think of anything to say that he hadn't already said a thousand times. It wasn't even the fact that Daisuke had decided, for some ridiculous reason, to climb up the back of the school bleachers that was making him feel so worried. It was all of his reckless acts put together. It seemed like every time he heard about one of his best friend's accidents, it was from him doing something even crazier than the last time. Now he was trying to climb very tall heights with nothing to protect him if he fell? What if he'd been at the _top_ of the bleachers when he'd lost his footing? He wouldn't be walking normally in front of him right now, that's for sure.  
  
The slender boy crossed his arms and frowned, sighing. He recognized his best friend's attempt to change the subject before he got in trouble. This was nothing new, and he hated the fact that he knew it wouldn't be the last time they went through it. However... he'd been having such a great day so far. He'd got an A+ on his History test, finished all of his homework, and the weather was beautiful for once after many days in a row of endless rain. Maybe just this once, for the sake of not spoiling his good mood with an argument, he'd let his friend drop the subject.  
  
"Fine." Ken turned around and the two of them began heading for the school's front doors. "But you better not do anything like that while we're out today. I mean it, Daisuke! You really worry me, you know that right?"

 

Daisuke felt his body relax a bit when Ken dropped the subject, but not before adding a small dash of guilt. Ken was his best friend; he knew he worried about him. That's why he would chastise the boy the way he did. However sometimes it made Daisuke feel like he was just nagging him. No matter how many times Daisuke would try to explain to him why he has been doing these dangerous stunts as of late, Ken's face would always go sour and the teen would have an hour of lecture. It was an addictive high that made Daisuke unconsciously crave more.  
  
But today, he was surprised the other teen didn't give him the standard lecture. He figured that either Ken found a crush or his day was great until this point. Either way, he figured before getting the focus off him he would at least spew some easing words, "Ken, I know you care," the cinnamon haired boy said with a smile, "because if you didn't I would have probably flunked out of high school by now."  
  
It seemed to lighten Ken up a bit, even though Daisuke never promised he wouldn't do it again. Daisuke was always a bad liar. So, he tried to avoid doing it at all costs. Especially around Ken, he was always the first to know every time. And telling him that he wouldn't try anything _was_ a lie, also telling him he would try would probably start conflict. Daisuke figured it best not to acknowledge that part.  
  
"So, where are we heading to first?"

 

"Hmm." Ken thought as they exited through the school's front door, thinking about where they could go. They didn't have to immediately head to his house he supposed, but they really shouldn't stay out too late either and then end up not having enough time to tutor Daisuke. It was 3:25pm (their school let out at 3) so most places would still be open. It was then that a thought occurred to the slender boy. Had Daisuke ever agreed not to get himself in trouble while they were out?  
  
Ken glanced at his friend and thought about it. He couldn't recall him promising that he'd stay out of trouble... but he really didn't want to bring it up again by confronting him. He actually hated lecturing Daisuke, he always felt like an annoying nag. He just felt like if he didn't get on him about it then he was accepting his behavior, and he couldn't do that either. For now he'd let it go, but he was going to keep a close eye on the other boy. "Well," Ken began again as they reached the train station. He stopped their progress before they got on a train though because depending on where they went, they'd board a different train. "We're out of snacks at home right now and I know you always get the munchies when we work on your math, so let's go to the grocery store and get some. Is there somewhere else you were hoping to go to as well?"

_‘The grocery store is about three blocks from the skate park_ ,’ Daisuke thought to himself before pushing that thought quickly out of his mind, ‘ _No Daisuke, you have already done enough damage for one day_ ,’ referring to the sore bruise on his right leg. Even though he thought it was well worth it.  
  
Daisuke's chocolate eyes peered over at Ken who seemed to be waiting for an answer, "No," he said biting his lip, "I was just curious if you were wanting to do anything else since it was Friday. I know you're supposed to be helping me with my math later, but anyways, let's head to the store."  
  
He knew Ken saw right through that lie, but he kept on walking to where their normal train stop was. He felt like he was walking on eggshells around Ken. He knew Ken wasn't one to easily forget, he figured the indigo haired boy was just putting it on the back burner for now. As they entered the crowded train, Daisuke grabbed onto one of the bars hanging from the roof. "Why does this train always smell like a bag of old shoes?"

 

Ken chuckled at his friend's comment, and while he did find it rather blunt of the boy to say, he couldn't exactly disagree either. This particular train had never smelled all that great. It was well known for it in fact, which was why Ken normally avoided it if he could.  
  
As the two of them held onto the metal bar near the exit door, Ken realized another thing about this train that he should have remembered sooner. As it took off from the station it jerked forward very hard, much harder than most other trains, and Ken nearly lost his balance. He stumbled backwards and bumped into someone, which helped him keep his balance at least. The slender boy turned around to see that Daisuke had been the one he'd ran into, their faces very close now.  
  
"S-Sorry," Ken blushed and looked away quickly, confused by the butterflies in his chest now. Why did he feel so weird all the time around Daisuke? He couldn't remember when it had first started, but it had been going on for a while now. Maybe it was just from worrying about his friend so much. That had to be it. If Daisuke had said anything back, Ken wasn't sure. He found himself spacing out and staring through the train window, watching as the scenery sped past them. Before he knew it their stop was approaching, and the store would only be a few blocks away from the station.

 

Daisuke held tightly onto the handle and prepared for the train to jerk into a speedy take off. It became apparent to him that Ken was not ready, for the inertia almost knocked the indigo haired boy on top of Daisuke. The darker boy kept his stance until his friend regained his balance. He laughed wryly, "It's amazing they haven't replaced this damn thing."

 

When the goggle boy realized Ken was miles away in his thoughts, Daisuke turned his attention out the window. Silence remained between the two for the rest of the ride. Daisuke would stare out the windows, which had obviously not been cleaned for some time, watching the city pass by or people watching, occasionally casting a glance over to his friend.

 

Once the train came to a screeching halt, and they exited, they made their way to the store. Daisuke noticed Ken's silence since they entered the train, but couldn't exactly figure out why. _‘Maybe he's still mad about what I did earlier in gym,’_ he guessed. That was the only explanation Daisuke could think of for Ken's increasing amount of silence and not just today. This had been going on for a while. Daisuke pushed the thoughts out of his mind and smiled over to his friend, "So, I never asked, but how did you do on the history test?" he asked trying to break the silence as the duo entered the grocery store.

 

Ken was startled a bit by his best friend's sudden question, having been thinking about many things just seconds ago. Nothing had been said for a while, so he wasn't expecting it. As they walked into the grocery store Ken felt a bit embarrassed. He was probably making it look as though he was angry or something, and that wasn't the case at all. Sure, he was a bit irritated at his friend for being so reckless and he was also confused about the weird feelings he kept having around the other boy. He wasn't upset though, and his silence was probably going to make it seem that way.  
  
"Sorry, Ken smiled at his friend, heading towards the snack section of the grocery store. "I'm not upset if I've been making it seem that way, I just... have something on my mind." He felt his eyes glance at the window of the store that faced the skate park not too far away. "Anyway, I did really well on my test. I studied pretty hard for it and got an A+."  
  
Ken shook his head, not sure why he kept staring out the window and over at the skate park. Then he looked back to see what Daisuke was doing.

 

As Daisuke walked down the aisles, eyeing the array of junk he wanted, he listened to Ken talk. He wasn't surprised his friend did well on the test, but Ken deserved praise. He never knew of him cheating or helping others cheat. Even though Daisuke was guilty of having tried that before. He didn't know what he would have done if Ken hadn't helped him study.  
  
"I never expected anything less than perfect," he said with a smile.  
  
Daisuke picked up a few snacks (chips, candy bars, etc.) and headed toward the front of the store. It was then that Daisuke noticed that his friend was staring out the window. He followed his gaze to find he was staring the direction of the skate park which made Daisuke feel a sinking in his chest.  
  
Though Daisuke never promised he wouldn't do anything reckless, he didn't want his friend upset with him. He never understood why, but he hated it when Ken was mad at him. He always wanted the other boy's approval. Even if everyone else was against him, he didn't care as long as he had the indigo haired boy by his side. And as much as he wanted to go to the skate park and feel the rush as he dropped down the ramps, he knew there was another task at hand and that was to go to Ken's and study. Daisuke paid for the snacks and headed out of the store.

 

Ken felt a large smile spread across his face at his friend's praise. He was complimented a lot by many people for his grades. Not necessarily because they were something spectacular, as he was just at a normal school now, but because of how hard he worked for them. When the acknowledgement was from Daisuke though, it felt a lot more meaningful. Ken couldn't think of anything to say back to his friend, so he just went up to the checkout aisle with him.

 

Once they were done they headed outside and towards Ken's apartment, which wasn't too far away. They would always go to that particular grocery store because that way they wouldn't have to take more than one train. Though usually they took the slightly longer route to avoid the terrible one they'd ridden on just a little while ago.

 

Though he still had to take a train to get home, Ken no longer lived in Tamachi, there was no reason to, as he went to school in Odaiba now. The strong memories of Osamu in their last place didn't help his parents move on from that tragedy in their lives either, so they found a place closer. Now it was only one short train ride away from the others and his school, and they lived right next to many stores now too. Ken liked it a lot more than their old place.

 

"So," Ken asked as they reached the front door to his apartment and he pulled out his keys to unlock it. "Do you want to start studying right away?"

 

            Daisuke followed Ken as they walked into the cool dwelling, kicking off his shoes as he entered. Daisuke thought about the question Ken asked and decided to be a smart ass, "Well, since your parents aren't home we can always bang on the couch," he said with a devilish grin.  
  
That sudden look of shock on Ken's face made Daisuke burst into laughter. He leaned against the couch for support as he felt his legs go weak from his intense giggle fit. Daisuke loved to make comments like that ever so often just to see the looks Ken would give. Ken seemed to be the only one to allow him to make such jokes as these. He tried it a few times with Takeru, but it only left a sour taste in his mouth after, not to mention Takeru never took it lightly. He even made a few around Miyako, but she would make him feel like a creepy psycho that got his jollies from dancing naked while rubbing peanut butter on himself. Ken was different. He made Daisuke feel comfortable, no matter what stupid stunt he pulled.  
  
Daisuke always told himself that there will probably never be another person in the world that would make him feel this way. Someone he could be himself around all the time. Even though he knew Ken wasn't always prepared for his blunt comments. Daisuke even thought at one point if he could just find a girl version of Ken, he would marry her tomorrow. But soon those thoughts turned into 'why try to search for what's before you?’  
  
When his laughter finally ceased, he plopped down on the couch of conversation and said, "I'm kidding. We can chill for a while before starting."

 

            Ken felt his body freeze up at Daisuke's comment, his eyes going wide. For just a split second he thought the other boy had been serious, his chest filling with very familiar butterflies. Not even a full second after the words were spoken though, the tanned boy burst into a fit of laughter and Ken realized that he'd just been messing with him. Ken cleared his throat and shook his head, trying to compose himself before he was embarrassed further.  
  
When the other boy flopped down on the couch and asked if they could chill, Ken couldn't help but chuckle lightly. Daisuke was just so... Daisuke. There really wasn't another way to describe it, and he wouldn't change anything about his best friend even if he could.  
  
Ken sat down on the couch with far more grace than his comrade had just displayed, and glanced up at the nearby clock on the wall.  
  
"Well, my mom and dad are at a birthday party for some friend of theirs that I don't really know." Ken looked back over at Daisuke, "So they won't be home until sometime tomorrow afternoon. I guess that means the place is ours to do whatever we want until then..." Ken felt another blush crawl up his cheeks as he thought back on Daisuke's comment just a moment ago. "N-Not that I'm suggesting something! I was just letting you know that because... uh..." Ken sighed and gave up. Somehow, even though no one else could, Daisuke was somehow able to break through all of his self-conscious barriers with no trouble at all and leave him completely speechless. It was as though Daisuke loved to crush his composure and leave him embarrassed and flustered. "You know what, just... never mind Daisuke."

 

Daisuke laughed wryly at his friend. He loved how he could make Ken flustered just by a few words. He knew it didn't take much to make Ken like this, and when he tried to retort it only made it all the better. However, if Daisuke said he never thought about it before, he would be lying. He and Ken were different in ways, but it was like those differences made them fit like puzzle pieces. He never knew why he never talked to Ken about it. Maybe because he was afraid of losing the best friend he ever had.  
  
It had occurred to him that they never really talked about sexual orientation, maybe because Daisuke never thought about getting married and having children. Ever since their adventures in the Digital World, Daisuke always lived in the now. So, he never thought about if he were straight or gay, he really didn't care. Even if he were gay, the only person he could be with was Ken. Because he was what Daisuke looked for in a mate.  
  
When Ken gave up on trying to saying something back that didn't make the situation any more awkward, Daisuke raised his hand and smiled, "Calm down, I know what you're saying. Anyways, that must be a hell of a party to last _that_ long."

 

  "Oh, no," Ken shook his head, having finally regained his composure. "It'll be done around 9 or 10 tonight. They're just staying at their house because it's really far away and they don't want to drive back home. Plus, they rarely get to see this friend of theirs, so that way they can be with them longer than just the party."  
  
Looking at Daisuke's face, Ken realized that the tanned boy was thinking about something. Anytime the other boy thought about something more serious than normal, he would frown a bit. Not an angry or sad frown, just a thoughtful one, but he always did it. Right now he was doing that exact thing, and Ken wondered if he should ask about it. What could it be about though? It had only just now started, so it probably wasn't about something that happened earlier. However, the only thing they'd done so far was make sexual jokes, so was it about that? Had he accidentally made Daisuke uncomfortable or something? He didn't see how it could be from that though, seeing as it was Daisuke who had started it in the first place.  
  
Sometimes Ken felt like Daisuke wasn't telling him something. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he kept getting the idea that his friend was hiding something. In a sense though, wasn't Ken hiding something from Daisuke? He really didn't understand the feelings he had for the other boy anymore... were they beyond friendship?  
  
Ken realized that he was looking down at his hands and forced himself to look back up at his friend. A long time ago Daisuke told him that anytime he himself had something on his own mind, he stared down at his hands and played with them. How long had he been doing that? Had Daisuke noticed?  
  
"So." Ken sighed, not sure what to say anymore. "What do you want to do?"

 

Daisuke's chocolate eyes glanced over to his friend. He couldn't tell him that he still wanted to go to the skate park, but he was trying to behave for Ken's sake. That was another thing that was hard to talk to Ken about—how he was slowly becoming a thrill junkie.  
  
It wasn't something easy to talk about. As well as easily accepted. Daisuke figured they could probably just go in Ken's room and play video games or something, but again Daisuke decided to make another smart comment, "Well, I have already made a suggestion," he said with a grin, "but I _guess_ we could always go play video games."  
  
With that he got up and gathered his things and made with way back toward Ken's room.

 

Ken followed his friend into the bedroom where his video game consoles were. The TV wasn't as large as the one out in the living room, but they were both always too lazy to hook it up out there. Daisuke chose the game he wanted to play, a car racing one that he loved. Ken liked it and all, but not nearly as much as his friend did. Oh well, Daisuke was always fun to play with regardless of the game.  
  
The slender boy glanced over at his friend and had a thought. Daisuke sure liked to make jokes about them being gay, and he did it all the time. Ken always got flustered and didn't respond though, because it always made him feel embarrassed. How would Daisuke react if Ken was the one who made a joke like that to him? Or if Ken managed to keep his composure and played along?  
  
Ken tried to imagine the look on his friend's face, and the images made him crack up.  
  
"You know Daisuke..." Ken made a point of using an unserious tone of voice as he trailed off, pulling out a controller and handing it to his best friend. "You better watch what you say. If you aren't careful, one of these days I may just play along with one your flirtatious jokes and hit on you back."

 

After the duo played for a while, Daisuke became so wrapped into the game that he began to tune everything out. He was unaware that Ken was occupied with his thoughts more than the excitement of the screen. This was the kind of excitement that he longed for. He would do anything for a round of drag racing. He heard his friend saying something, but, ‘… _you back_ ,’ were the only words of Ken's that he caught.

 

Automatically he assumed he was talking about the game in front of them so he did a wicked smile and glanced over at his friend, "Ha, I'd like to see you try." It was then that Daisuke smashed his car into the side of Ken's causing the virtual car to roll before exploding, "Aww, yeah!!!" he exclaimed with pride. He sat the controller down in front of him and lied back on the floor, stretching his arms outward while taking a deep breath in before relaxing into the floor feeling a few pops from his back.

 

            The slender boy groaned as he was very thoroughly beaten at their racing game, his car having exploded this time. He sighed and set the controller down, Daisuke whooping with victory nearby and lying down on the floor. It was then that Ken scowled; he had just been challenged.  
  
Ken was not a courageous person, nor was he blunt, outspoken or carefree like his friend was. It was surely these traits that caused his best friend to constantly make tactless sexual jokes at him, that Ken really did not possess himself. However, there was one thing Ken did have, and that was a strong sense of competition. It was how Daisuke constantly got him to play soccer when he really didn't want to. He knew that all he had to do was challenge his capabilities at the sport with some kind of 'oh, so you're too afraid huh?' comment, and Ken would be forced to prove himself. His image mattered to him, and Daisuke had basically just said he didn't believe that Ken would flirt back with him, that he didn't have the guts. If he didn't, then that meant he was too afraid.  
  
Without a real plan in his mind, Ken rolled on top of Daisuke and pinned his shoulders down into the carpet.  
  
"Th-there!" Ken stammered. "That's what you... get..." Before he'd even really looked down at his friend's face, Ken felt embarrassment settle in his stomach and a blush burn his cheeks. Oh god... had he seriously just done that?!

 

            Daisuke's glory was soon short lived for the last thing he expected was he best friend to roll over and straddle him, pinning Daisuke to the ground with a small amount of force. Ken's hair waved over his eyes where Daisuke couldn’t see him. However, he could make out the blush that crept up on his cheeks. Daisuke, too, felt his face get hot. Ken had never done anything like this before.  
  
"Uh, K...Ken?" he asked apprehensively, his voice slightly higher than a whisper, "What... are.. you doing?"  
  
Daisuke knew something was up. This wasn't the Ken he knew, although he wasn't really complaining. He knew Ken had a shy nature, accept for that time after the dark spore was embedded in him, but this almost seemed like a stunt Daisuke, himself, would pull. The cinnamon haired teen felt an unexplainable, overwhelming feeling in the pit of his stomach. His heart was indeed beating fast. The jokes that he made toward Ken were only half serious (But Ken wasn't supposed to know that), he figured Ken knew why he did it. He never showed any offense to it.  
  
Surely, his friend knew Daisuke well enough to know that all he had to do was tell him not to do that and he didn't like it, and Daisuke would have stopped. Never for a moment did he think Ken would do anything back. Well, at the moment Daisuke was drawing a blank, figured he would see where Ken was going with this.

 

            "I-I..." Ken blinked and froze up even more than he had before, staring down at his best friend. "W-What do you mean what am I doing? You said, 'I'd like to see you try' right after I said I'd tease you back if you didn't watch your mouth."  
  
The slender boy quickly rolled off of Daisuke and fixed his hair with his hands, mostly to try and hide his face as much as physically possible. He was so embarrassed... not to mention there were so many butterflies in his stomach that he actually felt a little sick. Had his friend not even heard him or something? Why else would he have acted as though he had no idea what was going on? Maybe Daisuke just really, truly hadn't expected him to do something back even though he'd provoked him. Why had Ken even done anything back? Ugh...  
  
"I'm sorry Daisuke..." Ken sighed and stared down at the floor. "I guess I thought you were provoking me, and I didn't want to seem like a wuss."  
  
Well one thing was for sure, that was exactly the face Ken had imagined Daisuke would make.

 

            Daisuke was speechless. He wanted to laugh so badly, but he knew Ken was already embarrassed enough, he didn't want to further it and make it to where Ken would want him to leave. He had no idea Ken was talking about flirting back. This was probably one of the funniest, yet awkward, misunderstandings Daisuke had ever had in his life. He felt bad, embarrassing his friend the way he did.  
  
He noticed now Ken's body was turned slightly away and wouldn't even look at him anymore. The silence in the room was only making things worse. Daisuke figured he should say something, but had no idea what to say. The darker boy cleared his throat, "No need to apologize. I didn't hear what you said. I heard you saying something and assumed it was about the game," he sighed seeing Ken wasn't saying anything back.  
  
"But, at least I can't say you wouldn’t do anything back," he laughed wryly. He wanted to hug his friend but was afraid Ken wouldn't want to be touched and end up elbowing him in the face.

 

            "Ah." Ken said simply, realizing what had happened now. It was funny how perfect the words Daisuke had chosen turned out to be. They had fit perfectly in response to his threat, and yet he hadn't even meant it that way. The slender boy also found it funny to look back on Daisuke's expression when he'd done it... his face had looked so shocked, his eyes were ridiculously wide and he was blushing horrendously. Daisuke was a really hard person to get a reaction like that out of, so seeing it firsthand had been great.  
  
Ken found himself laughing before he even realized it. He turned to face Daisuke and cleared his throat, but when his eyes met his friend's, he burst into laughter again.  
  
"I'm sorry..." Ken giggled, covering his mouth as a guilty expression formed in his eyes. "I'm not laughing at you, it's just... your face when I did it... was priceless! S-Sorry..." Ken tried to make himself stop laughing but was having a really hard time of it. "I guess I _was_ laughing at you... but I didn't mean it in a bad way. I wish I'd had a camera. I mean... not that I want to embarrass you..." Ken sighed and shook his head. "I'm just going to stop talking now."

 

Daisuke was seriously confused at this point. First Ken was trying to hide his face from the world, next he was laughing hysterically at him. Daisuke laughed nervously along with his friend. And when Ken looked at him he began to laugh even harder, trying to stammer out words only to have them come out in a jumbled mess. Soon he found out that Ken was laughing at the shocked expression on his face when he decided to pounce him.  
  
Daisuke shook his head and laughed along with him. When Ken started to loosen up again Daisuke made one swift move to push Ken onto his back and saddle his waist. His heart was beating fast and he honestly didn't except this movement to go as smoothly as it did because of his usual clumsiness. A wicked smile spread onto his face. He was going to prove to Ken that this wasn't over just yet. He place a hand on either side of Ken's head a leaned in close to where their noses almost touched.  
  
For a moment he gazed into Ken's indigo eyes, they showed his hesitation, but also shock. He ran a tanned hand up Ken's sides, feeling the boy tense up slightly. The smile on Daisuke face grew wider as he whispered into his ear in a sultry voice, "Don't start something you don't plan to finish." With that said Daisuke suddenly began tickling Ken's sides.  
  
"Haha! I win again!" he shouted as Ken wiggled under him.

 

Before Ken even realized that his friend had moved, he was being forced down onto his back with Daisuke above him. The tanned boy grinned and his eyes became filled with mischief. Before Ken could even react, their lips were only an inch or so apart and a hand was moving up his side. Ken's entire body froze and his eyes widened. When Daisuke leaned down and whispered seductively in his ear, he felt hot shivers run through his body. Daisuke always said he was playing jokes on Ken, but the emotions in the other boy's eyes just now...  
  
Suddenly he was being tickled and all of his previous thoughts were shattered from his mind. He squirmed and giggled, trying to push the stronger boy off of him. Daisuke had the upper hand though, and it was really hard to do much from his current position beneath him.  
  
"St-Stop!" Ken laughed and wiggled around even more, trying to tickle the redhead back. He knew that Daisuke was ticklish around the knees, but every time he reached for them the tan boy knocked his hands away. Ken gave up after another failed attempt and grabbed the other boy's hands, yanking them away as hard as he could. However, he ended up pulling a bit too hard and Daisuke lost his balance, falling down directly on top of Ken.  
  
"Dai..." Ken breathed as a blush stained his cheeks, the redhead's body flat against his and their eyes locked. "I'm... I... I just..." he was having a lot of trouble forming any words, and after a lot of stuttering he managed to get his thought out. "I'm really confused... what are we... doing?"

 

As the redhead lied on top of his friend, his face was hot with a bright glow, that Daisuke realized the atmosphere was different. This really wasn't how they normally were. On nights Daisuke came over to have Ken help him study, which Daisuke noted that he was seemingly avoiding on purpose, they would probably play video games for about an hour or two, talk about school, and then go study. But it seemed almost like Daisuke wanted to experiment more with Ken. He kept testing the waters more frequently just for the excitement and going a little more further each time.  
  
Daisuke's mind was in a foggy haze, he stared into his friend's eyes for what felt like forever. It was like almost every time he looked at Ken he would yearn to get closer each time. He wasn't sure if it was the excitement or the fact that his jogress partner and him were meant to be this way. Daisuke was used to rejection, because of the years he had wasted on trying to win Hikari's affection, but he felt like rejection from Ken would be like a rusty iron spike impaling him.  
  
Daisuke noticed that his body began to tremble as these thoughts passing through his head. When he went to open his mouth to speak, no words came out. He didn't have an answer to Ken's question. He didn't know himself.  
  
The cinnamon haired boy quickly came to his feet, "I.. I.. I'm sorry. I need some air," he stammered before hurrying out the door. Daisuke didn't even bother grabbing his shoes, before walking outside. He made his way to the staircase and quickly ran up the cement steps to the roof, almost tripping a few times along the way. As he opened the door he was greeted by a nice cool breeze. He let out a sigh before walking to the gated ledge, allowing the heavy door to slam behind him.  
  
Daisuke's hazy eyes looked at the night sky and began to wonder how long they had been in there, seeing how it seemed like day time only moments ago. His chocolate eyes glanced over to see the apartment's boiler room. He quickly made his way to it and tried looking for a way to climb onto it before deciding to climb where the junction of the gate and building met. He had no idea why he was doing this, just that he wanted to get up there.  
  
Daisuke winced as the wire from the fence pressed into his feet, but he was determined to get up there and after a few more piercing steps he was overlooking the city while standing at the very edge of the building. ‘ _What are we doing, he said. I have no idea. Damn it, why do I keep doing this?!’_ Daisuke thought.

 

Ken felt guilt rip at his heart the moment his friend left the room. He sat up and realized that he was panting, all of his nerves on fire. His heart was beating faster than he could ever recall, and his arms were shaking a little bit. What they'd just done... no, what they'd _almost_ done...  
  
The slender boy took a deep breath and stood up, looking in the mirror above his dresser. Daisuke had clearly been rendered speechless and confused by the question he'd been asked, and Ken couldn't deny, he didn't really have an answer to it either. He could remember when this first started, how small the jokes were. Daisuke would just make some silly flirtatious comment and that would be it. Then he started tickling him a little bit, and eventually his jokes became more physical. It just went further and further, and now...  
  
_'Am I...'_ Ken thought as he closed his eyes and made himself confront something he'd been avoiding for years. _'Am I gay?'_ In truth, not once had Ken ever found a female attractive. Pretty sure, but he wasn't interested in dating them at all. Not even Miyako, who constantly flirted with him. Now days Daisuke flirted with him even more than she did and every time it happened he felt his nerves light on fire, his heart race and his stomach fill with butterflies. He didn't feel that way when a girl did it though.  
  
_'I need to find Daisuke.'_ Ken suddenly realized and felt a cold nervousness wash over him. He raced out into the apartment hallway after shoving his feet into his slippers quickly. Where had his friend gone? What was he doing? He had no idea which way he should look, and he was starting to panic. Daisuke had already been doing enough dangerous things lately without something like this as encouragement...  
  
A door slammed off in the distance and Ken immediately knew where his friend was. He'd gone up on that rooftop enough times in his life by now, there was no doubt in his mind, and the panic in his heart multiplied ten times. When Ken reached the top of the building and discovered his friend standing on the edge of the building his heart completely stopped in his chest and his breath caught in his throat.  
  
"Daisuke...!" Ken whispered urgently, not being loud enough to startle his friend and possibly fall off, but loud enough to be heard. "W-What are you d-doing? Please... please come back..." Ken knew his voice was shaking but he couldn't help it. "W-we can talk about this another time, let's just go study, okay?" Ken edged closer to where his friend was to try and help him down...

 

When Daisuke heard Ken's voice behind him, he didn't really acknowledge it at first. His dazed eyes were focused on the drop below him and how his toes were hanging over the ledge of the roof. He thought about how easy it would be for him to go over the edge if he were to have the right equipment. He loved being at this height, seeing how easy it would be for him to fall to his death if a strong gust of wind would cause him to lose his balance or just take one step forward. But Daisuke's thrills weren't for him to die, no, more like for that rush to kick in. It was his way of appreciating life.  
  
He soon began to listen to Ken try to talk him down and try to make things go back to the way they were. If things went back to the way they used to be it would be nothing short of a miracle. Even if he did go back in to study, every word would go in one ear and out of the other. The only way to possibly relieve some of this tension that was too thick between them, even if it was just a little, would be to talk about it now.  
  
But there was no way that would be easy for either of them. Granted, Daisuke was a bit vague, but he was no fool to his feelings toward his best friend. He could normally speak his mind, but this was something he never once thought he would have to talk about and that was telling his best friend that he cared more than he initially thought. It wasn't the thought of being gay that frightened him, because as Daisuke saw it, the only guy he could ever see himself with was indeed Ken.  
  
Daisuke was always one to face things head on and figured this would have to be no different. He slowly turned to his friend who was now standing beside the boiler room, waiting patiently. He knew he had really scared Ken with this escapade. Though he didn't mean too, he still had a wave of guilt wash over him. Daisuke placed one hand at the base of the roof, and swiftly jumped down.  
  
"If it's alright with you..." he paused and took in a deep breath, "I think I wanna talk about this now."

 

The moment Daisuke jumped back down and stood next to him, Ken felt a large rush of relief wash over his body. He hugged the other boy tightly for a moment and then nodded, backing up.  
  
"Alright." Ken sighed as the nervousness filled his chest again. He was afraid to confront this with his friend honestly... but he knew that Daisuke was right; they had to talk about it eventually, so it might as well be now. If they ignored it then there would be a strain between them, and Ken didn't want that at all. It's not like his friend would be able to study with this on his mind anyway.  
  
They headed inside after that and back to Ken's room, the two of them facing each other while sitting on the floor. "So..." Ken began. "I, uh... I... now that we're here I guess I don't really know where to start..."

 

The last thing Daisuke was excepting after he jumped down was a hug. He was actually surprised Ken didn't punch him in the face. He knew he had frightened his friend and also knew he would have deserved it. The whole walk back was silent as he thought about what he should say and how he should say it. He knew this wasn't going to be easy and it actually frightened him.  
  
Once back at the apartment and in Ken's room, the two sat on the floor. Daisuke thought, with a heavy heart, for a moment that Ken was going to get the ball rolling, only to have him draw a blank.  
  
Daisuke cleared his throat, "Look, I'm sorry about all of this. I honestly don't know how it started, but this has been going on for some time. Ken, I don't know how to really say it, but I am even worse at hiding it. I just... want to be around you... all the time. And this feeling isn't like what I felt for Hikari," he paused and took a deep breath, "it's deeper than that."  
  
When it came to Daisuke's infatuation with Hikari, it seemed to be built more on jealousy than anything. At first, it was puppy love, but no sooner Takeru came into the picture, he tried harder and harder to prove himself. He wanted her because Takeru did and once Ken came into his life his feeling for Hikari soon faded. Maybe because he realized that they were two sides of the same coin.

 

Ken breathed slowly, trying to keep his nerves and racing heart under control. This was actually happening wasn't it? Daisuke was admitting to having romantic feelings for him... right? He was pretty sure that's what he'd meant. Never in a million years would he have believed that his friend would tell him this when they got home today. He'd expected to hang out, eat dinner, study and then Daisuke would head home or stay the night, whichever he wanted to do.  
  
"I..." Ken started but lost his train of thought and shook his head, trying to get it back. "I really don't know what to say... it's just that my own feelings are so confusing. When girls flirt with me it's awkward and weird, I really don't like it. On the few occasions that a guy hit on me though, it was flattering and kind of nice. I've thought about the possibility of me being gay... but when I think about my family and how disappointed they would be, or how people at school would react... ugh... so I just stopped thinking about it at all because that was easier. Pretty lame of me I guess..."  
  
The slender boy looked down at his hands and a blush crept up his cheeks. "A-As far as my feelings for you go..." Ken cleared his throat and tried to calm himself. He didn't know why he was so afraid... Daisuke had basically admitted to having feelings for him, so this shouldn't upset the other boy. Even so, he felt more nervous than he could ever recall. "They've always been the most confusing. You're my best friend and you're a boy, so I shouldn't be attracted to you. But when you flirt with me... it's... it makes my heart race and it's hard to breathe..." Ken felt the blush on his face get hotter and the fear in his heart become stronger.

 

 "I think I like it."

 

A small smile crept up on Daisuke's face. He felt a small relief come over him. He knew this as hard for him as it was for Ken, but this elephant in the room needed to have attention called to it. As he listened to his friend speak, it shocked him to hear him say that he thought his parents would be disappointed in him. Why would they be? Their son was a genius; he was also kind and respectful to everyone. Anyone who meets him absolutely loves him.  
  
He really began listening to him when Ken started talking about his feelings for him. It was a shock to know that his friend may indeed harbor the same feelings as his own. Daisuke wondered if he was ashamed of liking him or if his feelings of what everyone else thought were the main thing holding him back. He never really cared about if anyone accepting him—gay, bisexual or straight—as long as Ken did no one else mattered.  
  
Though Daisuke's heart was still rattling against his ribcage, he could help, but feel happy. Even though Ken didn't leap into his arms and they rode off into their happily ever after, and it was a still a subject that was walking on the fence line, Daisuke was beginning to feel optimistic about it.  
  
He didn't want things to get out of hand and he knew he was good at causing things to do so. He took a deep breath and thought of something to say to lighten the mood.  
  
"So, is this the part where one of us says something deep and meaningful to get a hot and bothersome make out session into action?" he said with a big goofy grin on his face.

 

"W-What?!" Ken stuttered and a shocked expression formed on his face as he looked up at his friend. He should have expected Daisuke to say something like that, he really should have. Even so, he'd pretty much just been asked by his best male friend to make out with him. Alone. In his bedroom. When his parents weren't home. "A-Ah... I-I mean... well I j-just... um... that is... I..."  
  
Ken blushed more and looked away, hiding his face with his hair because he needed a moment to relax his nerves. He took a slow, deep breath and shook his head, finally composing himself a bit. Only Daisuke could get him this embarrassingly flustered...  
  
"Before we continue..." Ken's voice got a lot more serious as something occurred to him. "I need to ask you something, and I want you to please be honest with me about it." Ken paused to try and find the right words to use. "It's not just... us... that has been getting more and more intense lately. Why are you doing all these crazy things, like trying to stand on the edge of my apartment building? You never tell me what's going on and it hurts when you won't talk to me..." Ken felt a sadness fill his heart that he knew showed on his face. "You're the most important person in the world to me, and I know that you're hiding something. You want me to be with you, but you won't be totally honest with me about your problems... do you... not trust me anymore?"

 

Daisuke laughed at his Ken's shocked expression. Surely he knew Daisuke couldn't be serious for an extended amount of time. He had to make some kind of outlandish comment. It was one of the things he did best. He knew that what he said would go in either one of a few ways: Ken pouncing him right there, he would get offended, or he would just get all flustered. He just took his chances and went with it.  
  
However, he was taken aback by his friend's assumption. Of course he trusted him! He was the only one he trusted completely. It was easier to avoid this subject than to talk about it. Even though he didn't really want to talk about it, he saw the hurt that came into Ken's face.  
  
He glanced away for a moment and sighed before making eye contact again, "It's hard to explain, but it's not that I don't trust you," he said trying to find the best way to clarify it.  
  
"When we would go to the Digital World, every day was a struggle. Now that I think back on it, I'm surprised none of us were killed. But, I miss how things used to be. I miss how close we all were, I miss V-mon," once Daisuke spoke of his digimon his voice began to break. He could feel a pain in his chest as he spoke his name. He knew this wasn't going to be easy and it wasn't, Daisuke missed V-mon so much it hurt to even speak his name. He looked away from Ken as tears started forming in his chocolate eyes.

 

Daisuke had looked away quickly, but not quite fast enough for Ken to miss the shimmering liquid at the corners of his eyes. The slender boy felt his heart nearly shatter in his chest at the sight, because if there was one thing he wasn't used to, it was seeing his best friend cry. Daisuke wasn't the kind of person to get teary easily, it had to be something very severe.  
  
Ken felt his own face grow sad when he put two and two together. Daisuke missed the Digital World and V-Mon, their adventures... he missed the feel of their battles and being on the edge all the time. Was he trying to recreate that feeling by doing dangerous things? The other boy hadn't said it outright, but that's certainly how it seemed. And he really couldn't blame him for missing it all so much... he himself missed Wormmon all the time and felt like crying on occasion. He wondered daily how his Digital partner was doing, and as irresponsible of him as it was, he often found himself wishing that the Digital World would get in danger again so they could go back.  
  
Ken also realized that he'd left the question of them starting a relationship or not hanging open because of his question about the danger stunts. Daisuke was undoubtedly going to ask him again if he wanted to get together...  
  
Unable to watch his friend grieving anymore, Ken reached forward and held the other boy's hands in his own. "I understand." Ken spoke softly. "It's not easy for me either, I really miss Wormmon... I think about him all the time. And... I know that I never really gave you an answer on the whole, 'us' thing... it's just that I have so much pressure on me right now, Daisuke. My parents want to have grandchildren so badly because they feel like they failed at raising Osamu and me, and they always tell me about how happy it would make them to have another chance. Then there's the rest of my family... they're so strict and conservative. They expect that I'm going to marry a woman and have a son to pass on the family name, and they simply don't accept any other options. They won't understand, and they won't care what I have to say... I... I just need more time Daisuke. This isn't easy for me."

 

            He felt Ken's warm hand give him a comforting squeeze as he spoke. He heard his voice fill with sadness as his own did when he spoke of his digimon partner. He knew Ken missed Wormmon as much as he missed V-mon, after found himself, too, wishing something would happen that would require them to return.  
  
This was probably one of the hardest things to talk about for Daisuke. V-mon gave Daisuke unconditional love and never questioned him, he just accepted him and Daisuke was the same with him. He would kill on the spot just see him again.  
  
When Ken changed the subject he found that this talk probably wasn't such a good idea and could have waited. He listened to Ken talk about his family and not understanding the fact he wanted to be with Daisuke, if he even wanted to at all. Even though he understood the pressure Ken was under, he still couldn't help feel down about it.  
  
Daisuke's hand slipped away from Ken's as he came to his feet. He really had nothing else to say. Well, that's a lie, he just couldn’t put words to his thoughts, so he remained silent for some time, letting this all sink in. He walked over to the bed and sat down, leaving Ken on the floor and laid back. He placed his hands over his face as he thought of what to say. It was becoming apparent that ever since Daisuke's infatuation with Hikari he has tried to avoid things like this. No matter how hard he tried with Ken, it just seemed to make the infatuation worse.  
  
Daisuke's arms fell to his side, "Ken, this isn't easy for me either. But, it seems worth waiting for."

 

Ken felt his face fall, and his heart fill with guilt. To be honest... he didn't know for sure what his family would do or say if they found out about his sexuality. He knew them well enough to guess, and he'd even bet money on his predictions, but he didn't know for absolute sure. The only way to know would be to talk to them about it, and... he didn't know if he was ready for that yet. He could possibly talk to his mom sometime soon, but she was the only one he had the courage to confront.  
  
Daisuke... he was ready for them to be together, and he couldn't care less what anyone thought. Ken knew that for sure, because he knew his best friend. That was why it was so hard to try and explain this to the other boy, because this was one of those rare things that they just couldn't see eye to eye on.  
  
"I'm sorry..." Ken whispered, not sure what to say now. "Do you want to study still? Is it too late for us to have a normal day now? I'm not angry or upset, but... I just don't know how to lighten the mood..."  
  
Ken had an idea suddenly, and he stood up. "Actually..." the slender boy walked over and sat down on the bed next to his friend, smiling down at him, “Do you want ice cream? We have some in the freezer, so we could have some while we work on your math. Or we could go to the ice cream shop down the street if you want to get some fresh air, I'll pay for you. Then we'll come back and work.”  
  
If there was one thing that his best friend could never resist it was sugary sweets, and maybe, just maybe he could still salvage their day together.

 

Daisuke sighed with a hint of frustration. He knew that why Ken was offering him ice cream, but for once in his life Daisuke was going to pass. All he wanted to do was go home. He just found himself wanting to be alone.  
  
"Look," Daisuke said as he came to his feet, "I think... I should go."  
  
And with that said Daisuke gathered his things. He knew that not continuing this conversation right now was most likely the best idea. He knew that both of them needed time to think and he also knew that trying to study wouldn't take his mind off the situation. Daisuke through his backpack over his shoulder and slipped on his shoes. With a small glance over his shoulder at Ken who was now leaning against the door frame before walking out.

 

When Daisuke shut the door he didn't immediately walk away. He stood there for a moment secretly hoping Ken would come after him. When he realized that he wasn't Daisuke slowly began walking home. At the moment Daisuke wasn't sure what he was feeling. He knew that there was indeed a conflict of interest between Ken and himself, but also he found his mind going back to V-mon and the others.  
  
He knew this wasn't going to be easy, but that small childish ray of hope always shined within him and when it was snuffed out it was all the more disappointing. However, Ken never said _no,_ just for right now it was going to have to wait. Though Daisuke started having regrets about even mentioning it in the first place. He was becoming more apprehensive about telling him because he was afraid of the situation ending like it did with Hikari. Where it turned out that she only considered him a friend and nothing more. Maybe Ken was having second thoughts; maybe he never could be with Daisuke because of their friendship.  
  
There were so many questions that Daisuke was beginning to wish he had asked, but was afraid of the answer. He wished that V-mon was there. He could always talk to the blue digimon about anything and knew he could trust him not to speak a word of it.

 

Ken felt his face fall with disappointment when Daisuke asked to leave, but at the same time he understood. He'd pretty much just turned him down AFTER telling him that he does have feelings for him. That was... probably a lot worse than having just said no altogether. Ken felt the guilt come back, and suddenly he realized that Daisuke was about to leave. He ran out into the living room to try and say something to his friend as he glanced back at him, but the slender boy couldn't think of anything to say. When the door shut, Ken sighed and sat down on the couch. This was probably for the best... they could have some space for a few days before facing each other at school on Monday.

 

 

Before Daisuke realized it he was at the train station. He placed his hands over his face and groaned in frustration as his hands ran through his cinnamon hair roughly. It was like he didn't even have time to gather his thoughts because time seemed to just fly by. As he made his way onto the train and took a seat. He knew that it had to be late because there were almost no passengers except for a man in a business suit who was on his cell phone and a woman who sat across from him that was surrounded by groceries.  
  
It took no time at all before Daisuke found himself standing in front of his apartment on the 6th floor of the complex. His mind was still racing with the same unanswered questions as before. As he entered, he saw his sister, Jun, laid back on the couch watching tv. He tried to slip by unnoticed, but that came to be nearly impossible, "What are you doing coming in at this hour?" he heard the redheaded girl chime.  
  
"I was at Ken's place studying," he lied.  
  
"You know mom and dad do not like you roaming around this late at night. You better be glad they are asleep," Jun said while flipping through the channels.  
  
Daisuke said nothing more and walked passed his sister and to his room. He shut the door and threw his things over to the side. He sat down in the desk chair and laid his head on the cool surface of the wood. The cinnamon haired boy began to think about whether or not to tell his parents about this situation, but the only problem was that Daisuke couldn’t just come out and say he was gay, he wasn't even sure he was. The topic was a little muddled because Ken was the only guy he would want to be with, no others. Maybe he was just bisexual, but it could also not be as complicated as it seemed.  
  
Daisuke lifted his head and opened the desk drawer, pulling out his old D-3. He sighed as he ran his hands over the device. He felt a sinking in his chest as he began to think of V-mon and their adventures when things like this were normally on the back burner or not even thought of at all. He wanted to feel wanted like that again. He wanted to know that rush of knowing this moment could be his last and that he wasn't wasting it.  
  
Just then a thought occurred. Daisuke stood and placed the device back in the drawer before walking over to the balcony. He looked up to see the balcony that was on the next floor and beside it was the drain pipe. ‘ _I bet I could climb that if I had something to stand on,’_ he thought. The height, never bothered Daisuke, but he never tried climbing outside of the railing before either. Daisuke walked over and grabbed the spare chair he kept in his room for when Ken would come over and brought it outside onto the balcony. He studied it for a moment before stepping onto the chair and placing one foot onto the railing. Before going any further he realized this was different then stand on the edge of the building and he would need some sort of support. The only thing he could think of using was his belt.  
  
He unbuckled his belt and looped it around the rail, holding it tightly. He slowly stepped onto the flat surface, trying to keep his balance and eventually standing erect. He let out a sigh before looking down and seeing the drop below him. His mouth curved into a devilish grin as his eyes moved towards his goal. He only prayed no one was home. He leaned over to the drain pipe and placed his foot on one of the support bars.  
  
Daisuke, with one foot on the balcony and the other on the support bar, leaned down and unlooped the belt, placing it in his mouth before continuing to climb alongside the drain pipe. Daisuke could feel the high he had missed. His body tingling from the endorphins releasing and the adrenaline flowing through him. He felt the way he did when he was in the Digital World.  
  
As Daisuke made his way to the last support bar he leaned over to the railing up the 7th floor and looped the belt around it and swiftly leaping over to the small concrete platform and placing the belt haphazardly around him. He had made it with without a scratch, but there was still something missing. He walked over to the door and checked it. He figured he might as well since he was there and knew that he never clocked the door to his balcony so it didn't surprise him when this one was unlocked as well and slid open with ease.  
  
When Daisuke slowly slipped in his victory was short lived, his blood ran cold. He became face to face with a very large dog that he apparently woke from its’ sleep. The dog was barking loudly and started coming towards the door. In a panic he backed back out and slammed the door shut, slowly backing up when he saw the lights in the hallway come on and muffled words coming from inside. Daisuke's mind was racing. Quickly, he climbed back over the railing and leaned for the support bar. Daisuke's heart beat hard within him as he made his way back down as quickly as he could. His heart stopped when he heard the balcony door open and the dog's barking get louder. He knew that he would have to jump and prayed he didn't slip. He could hear the owner trying to calm down the dog, when he looked up he saw the large animal gazing down at him, barking louder than ever.  
  
When he saw the owner's shadow coming closer to the edge, most likely to investigate what the dog was barking at, Daisuke closed his eyes and jumped back onto his balcony, making a harsh and ungraceful landing. His face crashed into the corner of the chair, splitting open the skin along his jaw line. His leg grazed the concrete, as well as his arm. Even though he knew that whoever had to have heard him, it wasn't too long after that he heard this door above him close and then silence.  
  
Daisuke's heart was beating a mile a minute and his body tingling from adrenaline coursing through him. All he could do was sit there for a moment and try to catch his breath before going back inside to see the damage he had done to himself. He wiped away some of the trickling blood that oozed from the split on his face. When he began to calm down, Daisuke felt himself begin to laugh. He couldn't believe he had just done that or even jumped the way he did. He slowly stood and made his way inside and then to the bathroom where he could care for the fresh wounds.  
  
He winced at the sight of the swollen gash on his face and knew that it had to be deep, probably deep enough for stitches, but that was the last thing he was going to do. For now he cleaned it out and taped it closed with bandage tape and also cleaned out the ones on his arm and leg.  
  
Daisuke knew that was all the excitement he was going to have for the weekend. He knew he would have plenty of time to mull things over before he spoke to Ken on Monday, and maybe they could agree to a compromise. The only thing he was going to have to do is try to hide these wounds the best he could from Ken.  
  
He made his way back to his room, momentarily stopping in the hallway to see that his sister was fast asleep on the couch. After he closed the door and changed he walked over to the desk and pulled out his D-3 and climbed into his bed. He laid the small device on his pillow. It didn't take him long before Daisuke was fast asleep.

 

 

The rest of the day went by very slowly after that, and Ken had trouble sleeping that night. Saturday morning and afternoon were also slow and uneventful, until finally his parents came home late. It was now Saturday around 6pm, and the door shut loudly.  
  
"We're back Ken." Mr. Ichijouji said from the doorway as his wife walked into the apartment. Ken went to greet them with a smile.  
  
"Can I help?" Ken asked, noticing the grocery bags in his parent's hands. They nodded and he took some of the bags, walking into the kitchen with them. The three of them began putting the food away together.  
  
"Ah darn it..." Mr. Ichijouji sighed suddenly. "I forgot to get eggs. I'll go back to the store, I know you needed them for breakfast tomorrow."  
  
"Thanks honey." Mrs. Ichijouji smiled and continued putting groceries away with Ken. Soon enough his father had left, and he was alone with his mom in the kitchen. It was quiet for a while and Ken felt really nervous all of a sudden. Now was a good chance to talk to his mother about... that... and it was really bothering him. He just needed to know what she thought... even if she was disappointed (because he highly doubted that she'd get angry), just knowing would help. Maybe if she supported him though, he could actually find the courage to tell his father.  
  
"Did you have a good time by yourself Ken?" Mrs. Ichijouji asked suddenly, startling Ken.  
  
"Y-Yeah..." Ken felt his voice trail off accidently as the sadness came back, and he cleared his throat. "Yeah, it was fine. I studied a lot."  
  
"I see." Ken's mother frowned. She could probably tell something was on his mind. "Uh..." She continued. "Is everything alright?" Yeah... she could always tell when more was on Ken's mind than his homework.  
  
"Um... I'm not sure." Ken settled on saying as they finished putting the food away. He walked over to the kitchen table and sat down, staring down at his hands. He tried to find the words to say, but every time he opened his mouth nothing came out. He must have done that for a while, because all of a sudden his mother was handing him a cup of tea. "Thanks," Ken nodded and took it, and Mrs. Ichijouji sat down at the other end of the table with her own cup.  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked encouragingly with a smile, sipping the hot liquid.  
  
"Yes and no..."Ken cleared his throat again. "I think it's more that I _need_ to talk to you about it, but I'm really afraid to do so."  
  
"I see..." His mother's face turned sad. "What are you afraid of? You know that I'd never yell at you or anything like that, right Ken?"  
  
"I know mom," Ken took a sip of his tea and smiled at her. "I know, it's not that. I just don't want you to be disappointed in me. I'm afraid that... you might look at me differently."  
  
"Ken," His mother reached across the table and touched his hand, a warm smile on her face. "There's nothing that could make me think less of you. If you've made some kind of mistake, all I could possibly do is try to help you."  
  
"It's... not like that though." Ken looked down at his hands. "It's not really a mistake that I made, it's more like... there's something I realized about myself that I don't think I can change even if I tried. And... I don't think you'll like it. I highly doubt dad is going to be okay with it, and I know the rest of the family will despise it."  
  
"What is it?" Mrs. Ichijouji's expression became concerned, and a bit sad. "I'm here for you Ken."  
  
"I uh..." Ken felt his hands start shaking, and his mom took the cup from them so that he wouldn't spill the tea. After that he placed his hands in his lap and stared down at his feet under the chair. "It's that... I might not, you know... want to uh... well..." Every time he tried to say it, that he didn't want to be with girls, his voice caught in his throat and no words came out. How was he going to do this, exactly? He just had to stop beating around the bush and say it. "I'm g-!" Well he almost had it that time... No, he needed to stop acting like this. His mother was not a judgmental person. "Mom, I'm... not interested in women." The words were just as shaky as ever, but they were finally out.  
  
"Uh..." Mrs. Ichijouji frowned with what appeared to be confusion. She didn't seem upset or disgusted as Ken had feared, but as though she didn’t understand. "You mean like, you just want to focus on school right now instead of dating?"  
  
"N-No..." Ken felt a blush creep up his face. He just had to say it bluntly... "I'm not interested in women as in, not attracted to them... at all... because I'm... g-gay." Mrs. Ichijouji's eyes widened with understanding and she leaned back in her chair, appearing to be taking in what her son had just said to her. Ken's eyes went back down at his hands and his hair covered his face. He really couldn't confront her right now...  
  
An awkward silence filled the room and it lasted for what felt like hours, but was probably only a minute or so. Eventually Ken cleared his throat, and his mom seemed to snap out of whatever daze she had been in.  
  
"I'm sorry sweetie!" Mrs. Ichijouji apologized softly. "I didn't mean to not respond, it just really surprised me is all. Uh..."  
  
"It's okay mom..." Ken trailed off with a sigh.  
  
"Hey." His mom placed a hand on his shoulder and he flinched a bit without intending to. "I'm not angry or disappointed in you, so please look at me." Ken lifted his eyes up and met his mother's, and she smiled at him. "I really can't be all that surprised anyway..." she chuckled a bit. "I mean, you haven't shown even a speck of interest in girls your entire life, not even back when they used to swarm all over you."  
  
Ken smiled a bit, finally feeling relieved. "I just..." He began. "I just thought you and dad would be angry because I know you want grandchildren, and I won't be able to pass on the family name if I don't marry a woman."  
  
"Well..." Mrs. Ichijouji sighed and looked at her tea cup. "That's... more of a concern to your father and his family. It's not my family's name that would get passed on so my family wouldn't really care, but your dad's, well..." She trailed off, confirming what Ken had been afraid of. "I don't honestly know how they'd take it Ken. Not well, I can imagine that much. They do expect grandchildren and for you to have at least one son. I mean... I guess I do want grandchildren, but more than that I want you to find the happiness you deserve after all of the terrible things you've gone through. I'm sorry I was such a bad mother..." Her eyes turned sad after that, tears tugging in the corners.  
  
"No!" Ken gasped and felt frustration rise in his chest. "I know things weren't great at the start... but mom, you've been trying so hard since then! You haven't failed me at all, if anything you've helped me find myself finally. You should believe in yourself more!"  
  
"I could say the same to you." Mrs. Ichijouji looked at her son seriously, and Ken felt himself freeze. He'd told his mother about all the things he'd done as the Digimon Kaiser, so she knew about his sins... she also knew about how hard he'd fought to make up for those same sins, and yet even today, he constantly doubted himself. Sometimes there was even a part of him that wondered if his friends really trusted him, or if they'd just pitied him all along. He knew it was just his lack of self-esteem talking, but...  
  
"Yeah..." Ken smiled at her, and nodded. "Tell you what, I'll try to stop doubting myself so much if you try too."  
  
"Of course." Mrs. Ichijouji smiled back and stood, walking up to her son and placing a hand on his shoulder. "When you're ready to tell your father about your feelings for Daisuke, just know that I'll be there to support you. I can't promise he'll react well, or the rest of his family, but I won't just stand in the background."  
  
"I-I..." Ken blushed and looked down at his hands. "How did you...?"  
  
"Oh come on honey." His mother laughed and walked to the kitchen door, turning to say one last thing before leaving. "I'd have to be the blindest mother on Earth to have not seen the special connection you two have by now. I guess I don't know that it's him, but... he'd be my first guess. And your face pretty much says it all."  
  
Ken realized suddenly that the blush on his face was a lot more intense than before, and he was left alone in the kitchen after that. He had to take a deep breath to calm his nerves. Well... as embarrassing as all of that was... he felt a lot better. Having his mother's support, even if that was all he ended up having, was enough to try confronting his dad eventually. Not today, or even this weekend, but... eventually.

 


	2. And so it Begins: Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just drama...

Ken had spent the rest of his weekend studying for tests and completing various tasks around the house. He was extremely happy to find that his mother hadn't treated him any differently after he'd told her about his sexuality, and that she had also kept the secret from his father. At some point he would have to tell him, but for now this was enough. He still wasn't ready to be in any kind of relationship with Daisuke though, because he first needed to get his family used to the idea of him even being interested in other males at all. As for his aunts, uncles, grandparents and the sort... he wasn't sure yet if he was going to tell them. Chances were his father would end up telling all of them himself anyway. In any case though, he'd deal with that when the time came. For now it was Monday morning, and he needed to hurry up and leave for school before he was late.  
  
The slender boy reached the station quickly, happy to have made it just in time to catch the earlier train instead of having to wait for the smelly, jerky one that came later. Before he knew it he was at the station right by Odaiba High and he exited the train, walking at a comfortable pace over to his school. He himself lived in Odaiba, but just far enough away that he still had to take a quick train ride first.  
  
Many students hung around outside the building as they waited for the first morning bell to ring, the one that told them they had five minutes to get to class. Normally Ken, Daisuke and the others all met up in the cafeteria before school and sat at the same table until that bell rang. It was the only time of the day that they were all together, as they didn't all share the same class schedules. Sure, they still saw each other throughout the day, a class here and there with one or two of the others, and then there was their lunch, but never really all together like this. So it was important to them.  
  
Ken sat down at the table, everyone except Daisuke already there. The slender boy frowned and wondered if his friend would end up skipping school that day or something. He hoped he hadn't caused the tanned boy to want to avoid him or something... but then again, Daisuke was almost always the last one to show up, so this wasn't necessarily unusual of him.  
  
' _Just calm down.._.' Ken thought to himself and smiled at the others. _'He'll be here_.'  
  
"Good morning Ken!" Miyako beamed and blushed a bit.  
  
"Uh, good morning Miyako," Ken nodded and gave a small smile, feeling awkward deep down. He liked Miyako and everything, but only as a friend, and knowing that she had such strong romantic feelings for him made him feel uncomfortable. He wanted to just tell her that he wasn't interested at all but... he knew it would really crush her, and it was very hard for him to do things like that. It had been hard enough for him to tell Daisuke _'I don't know, let me think about it'_ , so how could he ever tell Miyako something like 'no, and most likely never'?  
  
"So Ken, what did you do over the weekend?" Takeru asked when they made eye contact.  
  
"Oh, nothing much, just-" Ken didn't finish his sentence as something caught his eye. Daisuke had walked into the cafeteria and began heading over to them, sitting down in front of Ken on the other side of the table.

 

Throughout the weekend Daisuke finished his homework that he and Ken were supposed to do together and without Ken's help he doubt he had done well on it. He mainly stayed in his room all weekend to avoid his family from seeing him in his roughed up position. The deep gash on his face, though properly cleaned out, was still swollen with a nasty bruise to compliment it as well.  
  
At one point he debated whether or not to steal some of his sister's make-up but decided against it. He didn't know anything about the stuff and doubt it would even match his skin tone. He knew that Ken would definitely notice the one on his face, but hopefully he could hide the others under his clothes. Daisuke was never one to bandage his wounds because he found that when they were covered it took them longer to heal, but for the one on his face he was willing to make an exception. As for the others, he figured as long as they were cleaned out he would be fine.  
  
When Monday morning came along he saw that the large scrapes on his arm and leg were scabbed over, even though that was a good thing, it also made them more visible. Daisuke decided to wear pants and bring a jacket. Even though it wasn't really cold and Daisuke was hot natured, which meant for a while he was going to be uncomfortable, he figured he'd just go with it just until the scabs started to fall off. Before he headed out, he cleaned the gash on his face once more and placed a large bandage over it. It occurred to him that it made it more noticeable but with it on it almost covered the bruise as well as the cut, so he was ok with that.  
  
When Daisuke got to school that morning, he joined his gang in the lunch room and took a seat between Hikari and Takeru, which was directly across from Ken. He tried to not draw attention to himself, but he knew Ken was looking at him. He knew Ken had to have noticed it.  
  
"Hey, Daisuke," Takeru chimed before turning back to his attention to Ken.

 

"So Ken," Takeru turned back to the dark haired boy. "You never finished answering me."  
  
"Sorry." Ken cleared his throat but his eyes remained stuck on the large band aid on Daisuke's face. "I didn't do much, talked to my mom about some stuff and then studied a lot." Ken made a point of mentioning his mom, in hopes that Daisuke would catch on to what he'd meant. He wanted to tell Daisuke about his mom supporting his decision, but not in front of everyone like this. Ken forced himself to look away after that and over to Takeru, trying to take his attention off the injury that the redhead possessed.  
  
Ken intended to ask Daisuke about that, but not in front of the others. He had enough trouble getting the other boy to talk to him about things like this when it was just the two of them, so he doubted very seriously that he'd even consider telling him what had happened with everyone else around too.  
  
"Well, that sounds pretty boring," Takeru chuckled and stood up. "I'm going to get breakfast from the counter, my mom put some money in my school account. Anyone else want to come?"  
  
"I will!" Hikari smiled and stood up, Miyako following after her. As the three comrades headed over to the counter serving breakfast on the other side of the cafeteria, Ken was left alone with his best friend. The slender boy looked over at the redhead and tried to think of something to say, but wasn't sure.  
  
"Daisuke..." Ken finally started. "Did something happen?" His eyes moved to the bandage to indicate what he was talking about. He knew he wouldn't have long before the others came back with food. "And please tell me the truth..."

 

When Ken asked about the injury on his face he sighed. He didn't really want to talk about it. He knew that his addiction was steadily becoming worse, but was just not willing to admit it. The redhead saw the disappointed look in Ken's eyes. He glanced away for a moment, placing his hand over the bandage to try and keep Ken's eyes from looking at it and tried to think of something else to talk about.  
  
Instead of answering his question, he figured he would try to change the subject and bring up the fact that he had spoken to his mother about the idea of her son being gay. "Later, first you have to tell me what your mother said."  
  
Their quiet conversation was interrupted from the other Chosen Children returning and calling attention to their whispers, "Hey," Miyako called out, "don't you know it's not nice to whisper."  
  
Daisuke's head snapped over to the girl with a mean glare before standing and looking back at Ken, "Ken, we'll talk later. I have to get ready for class," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. With that he walked away.  
  
"Jeez, sorry. If I would have known this was private I would have just left myself," Miyako said defensively.

 

Daisuke could feel the anger pulsing through him even though he could explain why. He knew Ken was worried about him especially since he saw what he was doing while over at his friend's apartment. He knew he would never hear the end of it if Ken found out he scaled his apartment building and climbed to the next floor, which in Daisuke’s perspective it wasn't _that_ high. Yes, he had gotten a little banged up, but he was still alive so what difference did it make?  
  
As for his reaction to Miyako's little comment, he will admit he may have slightly overreacted, but she was known within their group and elsewhere for sticking her nose into other people's conversation and voicing her opinion when it wasn't needed. Also, at the moment, the last thing he needed was for the others to know of his ever growing addiction. It was bad enough that Ken knew, but then again Ken knew just about all there is to know about Daisuke. But Daisuke did not want to talk about it, he was wanting to feel it. Talking about it made people ask questions and Daisuke didn't like the idea of being questioned for the crazy things he had done because he was still doing them.  


"Daisuke!" Ken called to his friend but the other boy kept walking away towards the cafeteria doors. "Ugh, wait! Bye guys..." Without waiting for a response, the slender boy got up and ran after his friend. Daisuke had just walked through the large double doors when Ken reached him, grabbing the tanned boy's arm as the doors shut behind them.  
  
"Daisuke, would you just stop this?" Ken was irritated now, and he was going to let it show. At least they were the only ones out here. "Stop just walking away from me any time there's a problem! How can we ever work any of this out if you won't communicate with me?"  
  
Deep down Ken was afraid that he might have made the other boy mad, but he needed to be stern with him sometimes. If he wasn't, then nothing would ever get solved. "Look," Ken let go of the other boy's arm now and looked straight into his eyes, "I'll tell you about my mom but only if you'll talk to me about whatever happened to you over the weekend."

 

As the cinnamon haired teen angrily made his through the heavy metal double doors he could hear Ken calling for him and even though he didn’t want to have this conversation, Ken made it very clear that he did. He grabbed a hold of Daisuke's arm, the one had been injured in his ungraceful leap back to his balcony, and made Daisuke look at him. Yes, the darker boy was still curious of what his friend's mother had said over the weekend, but he wasn't too keen on the sense that Ken gave him the ultimatum that he would only tell him if he were to recall the story of the origin of his wounds.  
  
He couldn't help, but be slightly irritated at how persistent Ken was being, but at the same time, he knew that Ken’s reaction was understandable. Another thing that was irritating Daisuke was how in such a short amount of time, things between them had become so complicated. They never used to be this way and Daisuke would be a fool to think it could ever be the same as it was before.  
  
He let out a sigh when Ken released his firm grasp on his injured arm, "Fine," he said, "you want to know, do you?" Daisuke started to slowly approach Ken, backing him into the wall of the empty hallway. When Ken's back met the wall Daisuke slammed one hand on either side of Ken's head and leaned in to where he was only mere inches away from his friend's face.  
  
"I miss the only being in, not only this world, but the Digital World who cared about me and gave me unconditional love and support, which I didn't even know _existed_ until I met him, and would follow me to the ends of the Earth and back with a smile. Now just to get a small glimpse of what that feels like, I am resulted into doing cheap thrills! I haven't been able to control myself and I will do any crazy stunt that comes to mind as of late, no matter how many cuts, or bruises I get," Daisuke paused for a moment and pulled up his sleeves revealing the bruises and scrapes on his arms as well as ripping off the bandage on his face, showing him the deep cut and angry bruise on his face, "because I will never feel that way again. I miss feeling that way when we were saving two worlds! When my life had _meaning_!"  
  
Daisuke felt his dark brown eyes beginning to burn, from a few tears that slowly started to creep out and slip down his face. At this point he was finding it difficult to look at his friend. His anger had melted away as he had begun to show what he had been burying deep down for quite some time. He opened his mouth to speak again, but it was becoming increasingly difficult, "And just to make things worse, I have feelings for my best friend and because of my _amazing_ track record with crushes, I wouldn't be able to have a relationship without looking over my shoulder every five goddamn minutes, waiting for something to come along and ruin it!"  
  
With that, Daisuke turned and began to walk away.

 

Ken's heart was beating faster than he could ever recall in his life as his friend turned on his heel and walked away. Something in him snapped, and he clenched his fists hard at his sides as an anger he hadn't felt in a long time welled up in his chest. Tears began stinging at his eyes, and he felt his body move before he'd even really thought about what he was doing.  
  
The next thing Ken was aware of was running after his best friend, grabbing his shoulders and turning his body around to face him.  
  
"You..." Ken's words came out shaky through the tears, his arms still shaking intensely. "You hypocrite! Right before we Jogressed for the first time all those years ago, I had been just about ready to run into my exploding base and get myself really hurt, possibly _killed_ , and what did you do? You grabbed me, slapped me, and yelled at me about why I shouldn't put myself in danger! You said it was because you cared about me and could never forgive yourself if you let me do something like that. Yet now when our situations are switched, when I'm trying to help you not get hurt, you want me to just go away and leave you alone? So none of your friends can put themselves in danger because you care about them, but _you're_ allowed to do whatever dangerous things you want and we all just have to _shut up_?!"  
  
Ken put his hands over his face and tried to wipe the tears out of his eyes. "You think V-Mon is the only one who gives you unconditional love, and would follow you to the ends of the Earth and back? Well then I guess you haven't noticed me beside you all this time, have you? I even..." Ken began backing away, looking down at the floor. "I even told my mom about something I never wanted to admit to her, I took a chance at possibly _destroying_ my relationship with her forever, and it was all for YOU! Because I was trying to make this work, but you don't even care about that do you? You think someone will ruin it? The only one who's ruining anything between us is _YOU_!"  
  
The hallway was silent, eerily so, as neither boy spoke to one another after that. After a minute or so passed, Ken couldn't stand to be anywhere near Daisuke anymore, so he turned and ran down the hallway as fast as he could and out through the main entrance of the school. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew that he couldn't be here right now.

 

Ken’s words had cut Daisuke deeper than anything ever had before. Not because they were meant to be cruel, but because they were all true. He was left alone in the hallway utterly speechless for so many different reasons. He knew he really messed up this time. Daisuke never once thought of how important his relationship with his mother was because he wasn't really close to his parents or sister. The only people Daisuke was close to were his friends, but mainly Ken and V-mon. Daisuke became frustrated. He thought he had every reason to be upset, but he didn't. Ken was in the same position as him, if not in a more complicated one and was still handling it better than Daisuke was.  
  
"Daisuke?" asked a soft voice from behind him.  
  
The cinnamon haired teen's head snapped to the side to see a concerned Hikari standing there with Takeru. He sighed heavily, not really wanting to see them at the moment. Then, it dawned on him that it must have been obvious that there was some friction between Ken and himself. Not to mention that they must have been loud enough for everyone in the cafeteria to hear.  
  
"Daisuke, what's going on? What happened to your face?" asked Takeru slowly approaching him, but decided to stop midway, "We heard a bunch of yelling and weren't... sure.. Daisuke are you ok?"  
  
The darker teen just stared blankly at them. He knew he had to find Ken, but he wasn't sure about Ken being willing to talk to him after the way he treated him, but he also wasn't ready to face the others, not yet anyways.  
  
"I have to go," was all Daisuke said to them before swiftly running after Ken.

 

Ken had no idea where he was going, only that he needed to go somewhere, anywhere other than the school. Not only because he had no idea what else to say to Daisuke now, but also because he'd totally humiliated himself in the hallway. Everyone in the cafeteria had surely heard him yell at the cinnamon haired boy... and his comment about the unconditional love he gave to his friend had surely sounded as gay as he'd meant it. Ken begged any gods that might be listening that rumors wouldn't start from this. He wasn't the kind of person who snapped with anger and yelled embarrassing, personal things in public places, that was Daisuke's job.  
  
Suddenly Ken realized where he was subconsciously going; Odaiba Fuuchirin (scenic forest). He loved that forest because many parts in it reminded him of the Digital World and places he'd explored with Wormmon all those years ago.  
  
Sitting down under a tree with his back leaning up against it, Ken felt at peace finally. He wiped fresh tears away from his eyes and felt himself relax, holding his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on top of his knees. This place looked so much like a forest in the Digital World that he and Wormmon would go to when Ken needed to talk about something. Even if it was a subject that the little green Digimon couldn't understand, he'd still talk to him about it there, because sometimes all that Ken really needed was to un-bottle his feelings rather than receive advice. He kept a lot of things inside, and over time it would build up and stress him out quite a bit. He wasn't like his best friend who could talk about any problem he had without worrying about what the others thought. And yet, here they were today, Ken screaming about his feelings and Daisuke not screaming about his feelings. When had things gotten so mixed up?  
  
"Wormmon..." Ken felt the tears fall from his eyes again and he hid his face behind his legs. Apparently he'd been letting how much he missed Wormmon bottle up now too, without the little green Digimon around to listen.  
  
Footsteps on crunching leaves approached, but Ken didn't care. Whoever it was would probably see him crying and then awkwardly leave him alone or something.

 

Daisuke was still shocked at the words Ken had said to him. He knew that his friend was angry with him, but he also knew that every word was true. Daisuke was good about having double standards when it came to himself verses the others. He didn't like seeing his friends in dangerous situations, but would happily walk into harm’s way and not want to be held back. He figured that if anyone was to get hurt he would rather it be him. He was also known for not looking at the bigger picture and that this was one of those situations.  
  
Ken was his best friend and he loved him dearly, and now it was becoming more serious. He hated having arguments with him or just having Ken be mad at him in general. That's why Daisuke tried too hard to keep Ken smiling.  
  
Daisuke ran from the school as fast as he could after Ken, but he was already gone. It still amazed him at how fast the slender boy could run at times. Even though Ken was nowhere in sight, Daisuke had a hunch as to where he could be found. Over the years when they would hang out and play soccer or what have you, Daisuke recalled Ken bringing him to Odaiba Fuuchirin a few times. He knew Ken loved it there. Daisuke could understand why too, it looked like the forest in the Digital World, a home away from home.  
  
It didn't take long for Daisuke to find his friend. He sat curled up under a tree. The cinnamon haired boy could hear soft whimpers coming from his friend as he made his way closer. It pulled at Daisuke's heart to see Ken like this, but he was never good with people who were crying. Normally he would try to crack a joke or just talk to them so they would forget about the reason they were upset, but this was different.  
  
There were words that needed to be said and he knew that he had to be the one to speak first. So, he made his way over to the tree which Ken was under and sat on the opposite side with his back pressed against the tree, turning his gaze upward, watching the soft wind make the leaves dance and the sun shining through. He sighed, "I always thought this would be easier... somehow," he spoke in a low tone, just loud enough for Ken to hear him from the other side of the tree.  
  
Daisuke brought his knees to his chest and laid his arms across them, "I thought that maybe since we have known each other for so long, it would all just come together. I never realized it seems to just make it harder. And since we're both guys... just makes it all the more complicated. I figure that my family really wouldn't care either way, because we aren't close, but I didn't stop to realize how much pressure was on your shoulders even though you told me. I.. I didn't mean to upset you... forgive me..."

 

Daisuke's voice was low and quiet from the other side of the tree as Ken, but even so it had still startled him. His eyes opened wide and he looked up sharply, but his friend wasn't in sight. He realized right away that he was sitting behind the tree as him, so Ken listened to his words.  
  
As Daisuke spoke, Ken felt his tense body loosen up a bit, and eventually he sat with his legs crossed on the ground in front of him. He leaned his head against the tree and looked up at the leaves and the sky through the gaps in the treetop. So many fond memories...  
  
Once his friend had finished, Ken smiled a bit. "This forest reminds me of Wormmon a lot." He began, not really replying to the other boy yet. "In the Digital World we'd go to a forest just like this and I'd talk to him about any problems I had that I couldn't tell just anyone. He helped me un-bottle so much stress... but he's gone now. I guess I've been holding a lot of things in me lately, maybe that's why I yelled at you back at school. Losing my Digimon... it affects me just as much as it does you, I just show it differently, Daisuke. It's affecting everyone else too, in their own ways." There was a comfortable silence between them for a little while.  
  
The slender boy continued to look up at the trees as a more serious expression crossed his face. "Now that I've lost Wormmon... having you endanger yourself terrifies me. What If I lose you too? After everything you did for me, no matter how much I tried to hurt myself or how closed off I was, you never gave up on me. Now that you're the one who needs help I really want to be there for you, but... you just push me away... it makes me feel like I've lost both of my best friends." After a little bit, Ken felt himself laugh again. "I suppose now I know how you felt before when you were trying to help me and I wouldn't let you. Funny how karma works."

 

After Ken spoke, Daisuke began to think of how Wormmon had helped his friend through things he couldn't. Daisuke knew for some time that Ken was at war with himself over things had he done in the past because he didn't know how to forgive himself. Daisuke, himself, has made many mistakes in his life, maybe not to the extent Ken had, but he always forgave himself. Daisuke had already forgiven Ken before he saw the error of his ways. After a small chat with Wormmon, Daisuke made it his goal to help his idol in any way he could. He just found it difficult to accept help from others.  
  
Daisuke's gaze met the ground when Ken spoke of karma, "I don't know if you would call it karma, but the tables have indeed turned. I have never done well with people helping me, except you and V-mon. Even still it's difficult to accept. I know that we are a team and are supposed to always be there for one another, but... being as hard headed as I am, I feel like I can work it out on my own."  
  
He picked up a blade of grass and began playing with it, "You are a priceless gem, Ken, you really are, and I hate to see you break." He sighed, waiting for his friend to speak, but when he didn't say anything he continued, "When I got home, after leaving your place, I was in my room mulling everything over. I started thinking of V-mon and you and the next thing I know I am... climbing up the side on the apartment complex to the next level balcony."

 

Ken felt a small blush creep up his face when his friend called him a priceless gem. He just wished he could get Daisuke to realize how priceless and important he was to Ken too. However, when the tanned boy explained what had happened, Ken felt his body tense back up and a frown form on his face. His heart began racing at the idea of just how dangerous that had been, Daisuke could have fallen and died! However... he wasn't going to get mad at Daisuke for it right now, because his friend had finally come forth with what happened. The worst thing he could do would be getting upset with him, and making the other boy feel as though he couldn't admit anything to Ken without getting in trouble.  
  
"I see..." Ken sighed and stood up, walking around to the other side of the tree where his friend was. He sat down in front of him and crossed his legs. "I won't say I'm happy to hear that, it really worries me to hear that you did something so dangerous, but... thank you for telling me." Ken placed a comforting hand on his friend's hand. "I just want you to feel like you can talk to me, that's all. There has to be something we can do to solve this..."  
  
Ken crossed his arms in thought. There had to be a way to help Daisuke get through this without killing himself... "Maybe," Ken began, an idea forming in his mind, "Maybe you just need to find an activity you can do that gives you those thrills but doesn't put your life in danger. And anytime you want to do something that you know is dangerous, call me and just talk to me about it. Or at the very least try to make it safer so that you can still do it without possibly hurting yourself or worse..."

 

Daisuke's cheeks began to glow a soft pink when Ken placed his warm hand on his own. He was glad Ken didn't snap at him or even lecture him about his most dangerous stunt yet. He placed his hand on the wound on his face, and felt the reminder of the event. When Ken began to suggest alternatives to his reckless escapades Daisuke felt a grin crawl onto his face. With all his might he tried not to start laughing because he knew his friend was being serious and didn't want to upset him and make him think he was insulting his attempt to help him, but he could have his mind in the gutter at times.  
  
When Ken wasn't paying attention to Daisuke's movements he pushed the slender boy over and swiftly crawled on top of his frame. At the moment Daisuke didn't really care if anyone came by and saw this display, despite Ken's wiggling to get up and obvious blush. He leaned down only inches away and smiled at his friend. He took a hold of Ken's pale hands and held them on either side of him, looking down into Ken's beautiful indigo eyes.  
  
"You know, there is actually one thing that just may give me the same thrills," he said with a smile, "and I think I'm sitting on it."  
  
With that, Daisuke could no longer hold back the laughter. He leaned his face off to the side and let out a laugh. The cinnamon haired boy rolled off to the side, however he didn't let go of one of Ken's hands. He's eyes gazed at the treetop and watched as the leaves dancing in the breeze.

 

Ken tried to gain control of his pounding heart, taking deep, slow breaths next to his friend on the ground. This happened every time Daisuke did something like that... but especially when he held him down. Maybe it was some kind of fetish on Ken's part, but he'd never been the dominating type himself, and in fact he preferred it the other way around. He also loved how deep Daisuke's voice got when he whispered in his ear.  
  
The slender boy cleared his throat and shook his head, trying to compose himself. He needed to end that train of thought quickly before it became more obvious what he was thinking about...  
  
They shared a nice moment after that, the breeze playing in Ken's hair and lifting it up off the ground at times. Ken turned over onto his left side and looked at his friend, who looked back at him. He smiled when their eyes met, and Ken realized something that he still needed to say.  
  
"So..." The slender boy began, lacing his fingers through Daisuke's with their still-connected hands without realizing it. "My mom took it really well. She uh..." Ken began laughing at the memory of his conversation with his mother. "She immediately knew it was you that I liked. She's just worried about how my dad and his family might take it. I don't know when I'm going to talk to them yet, but... I will soon." Ken blushed when he realized he'd been holding the other boy's hand intimately and pulled his away. He really wanted this... but... he needed more time to talk to his father still.

 

Daisuke was glad to hear how well his mother took it. He knew Mrs. Ichijouji had a level head when it came to certain controversial topics, even though in this case it was her son she was talking about. On the other hand, Ken's father wasn't as open minded to such things. He had heard several comments he had made over the years and it was understandable why Ken would hesitate to tell him.  
  
He scoffed and rolled his eyes, "I'm flattered that your mom would think of me first. I guess that means I _am_ important to you after all," Daisuke joked with a chuckle.  
  
When Ken pulled his hand away Daisuke's face fell some. He figured Ken probably wasn't ready for that. So he accepted it and rested the hand across his torso. "If you are worried about how your father will react, would you want to tell him so soon? Why not just wait until you feel absolutely comfortable with it instead of doing it because you feel obligated?"

 

"Hmm..." Ken trailed off, trying to figure his own thoughts out. Sometimes he really didn't even know what he meant himself, and that made it even harder to explain to others. "I guess it's just that I know time won't matter with my father." Ken nodded, finally realizing the best way to put it. "If I tell him now or in five years, his reaction will still be exactly the same. I don't have a specific date that I plan to do this or something, I'm just... waiting for the right moment, I guess."  
  
Another comfortable silence fell between them, and finally Ken stood. He offered a hand to his best friend, still lying on the ground under the tree. "I think we should get back to school now." Ken smiled a bit, expecting his friend to protest. "The others are probably wondering what the heck is going on with us right now."

 

Daisuke listened to Ken's explanation about his father. He did have a point. The longer it is withheld, the longer it would take his father to accept it. He father would probably shun him longer especially if Ken's older and he is still hoping for and expecting grandchildren. Daisuke nodded slightly.  
  
After a few moments of silence Ken helped Daisuke off the ground, where he dusted himself off and followed his friend back to the school. He knew they had to have missed a class or two. It felt as if they had been there for at least two hours, but it wasn't the first time Daisuke had cut class.  
  
As the two of them headed through the woods and back towards the road, Ken found his mind wandering back to the others. What if they asked him what was wrong with Daisuke and why he'd shouted at his friend in the hallway? He couldn't tell them about his best friend's thrill trips, because it wasn't his place to say. Daisuke had to be the one to tell them, but he didn't just want to leave them worried either... "Hey Daisuke?" Ken spoke up after a few minutes of comfortable silence between them. "If the others ask about what happened... what do you want me to say?"

 

Ken made a good point when it came to the subject of the others asking about their altercation this morning. He stopped and thought about it for a moment before shrugging his shoulders, "Tell them we had a disagreement over the weekend and it’ done and over with and to mind their own business."

 

Ken chuckled and nodded at his friend, but deep down he felt uneasy. He knew that it had been hard enough for Daisuke to tell him, his best friend, about his thrill urges, so of course he didn't want Ken to inform the others yet. However... another part of him felt like Daisuke was still trying to run away and hide his problems. No matter what though, he'd made progress today by talking to Ken, so the slender boy would just leave it at that for now.  
  
They reached the school faster than he'd expected, and when they arrived on campus the bell began ringing. "I wonder which period it is right now..." Ken glanced at his watch and realized they'd missed their first two classes and now had five minutes to get to their third period on time.

 

"Hey, see you at lunch!" Ken waved at Daisuke and began racing up the school steps.


	3. Where Good and Bad Cease to Exist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are trying to get back to normal... but where is the fun in that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a steamy scene in there. Be on the lookout if that is not your thing.

 

Daisuke sighed as his chocolate eyes were fixed on the clock in his literature class. He refused to look away, because if he did it might have gotten up and ran away. It almost felt as if time was standing still. He always hated the classes that didn't have Ken in them. Even though Ken would fuss at him to keep quiet, Daisuke couldn't help, but want to play around.  
  
When the bell finally rang, Daisuke wasted no time leaving the classroom and heading to his locker, weaving through a maze of bodies. He threw his books into the locker and swiftly took off to the cafeteria after slamming it shut. Just as Daisuke approached the double doors where he and Ken stood that morning, he heard his name being called from behind him. Not too far behind him stood Hikari, holding her books in front of her.  
  
"Hey Hikari," he said as he approached the meek girl.  
  
"Hey, would you walk with me to my locker," she asked with a sweet smile.  
  
He thought for a moment, he knew he wanted to go in, "Well, I was going to head on in there, because Ken should be waiting on me," he explained, seeing the brunette's face fall into a more serious expression.  
  
"That's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about. It won't take long and I'm sure he will understand, plus, my locker's not that far."  
  
The girl left no room for a reply, that part of the conversation was over with. Daisuke sighed deeply, because he already knew where this was going too. But he figured that he knew what he would say if they were to ask him about he and his friend's confrontation that morning. He followed her in silence down the hall. Daisuke knew how Hikari went about doing things, he of all people should know. She never liked trying to get information out of people around others and normally took them off to do meaningless tasks so they could talk in private.  
  
Soon the hallways cleared and it was just them walking quietly until they arrived at the brunette's locker. Daisuke leaned against the opposite row and crossed his arms, "So, I am guessing you want to ask me about the little tiff Ken and I had this morning, right?"  
  
She felt her body tense up when he asked the obvious question and placed the book inside her locker, not really replying right away. The girl looked over her shoulder at him, "Of course it is," she said softly, before shifting her body to face him.  
  
Even though he already knew it was coming, Daisuke felt himself grow irritated at the presence of the other Chosen Child. He sighed in frustration and uncrossed his arms, coming back to his full height, "Hikari, it is nothing you need to worry about, I promise. All it was was a continuation of an argument we had over the weekend and it got a little heated," he explained. Even though it wasn't a complete lie, it was enough to for Hikari to catch wind.  
  
"So, what happened to your face?" she said, turning back around to close the locker.  
  
Daisuke groaned in frustration, "I'm clumsy," he said, "what's with the interrogation?"  
  
"It's not an interrogation, Daisuke, I was worried," she frowned, "You came in this morning very quiet, which you never are, and banged up. Then, when we came back from getting our trays you snap at Miyako, storm off, and end up having a fight with Ken. It's not like you, Daisuke, so yeah, I am going to ask you about it. Plus, when we saw you standing there, you looked almost heartbroken."  
  
The last thing Daisuke wanted was a recap at the morning he had. Granted, he and Ken ended up working it out, but it almost sounded sour coming from someone who didn't know the whole story. Daisuke began walking back to the cafeteria, with Hikari following beside him. He placed his hands in his pocket and kept his eyes forward, "I didn't have the best weekend, that's all I can tell you. I'm sorry I was in a bad mood, but I can't always be loud, perky, and energetic."  
  
With that, Daisuke picked up his pace and walked to the cafeteria.

 

Ken sighed as he looked at the lunch options today; a cheeseburger and fries with surely more calories than he should ingest in an entire week, pizza with so much grease that no amount of napkins could soak up enough to get rid of the oily taste, fish tacos that would make him sick once he got home, and that same bland salad with wilted lettuce they served every week. He really needed to stop forgetting to pack his lunch in the morning, this was ridiculous. Just thinking about how unhealthy and gross this food was made him lose his appetite.  
  
Giving up, Ken turned back around and found the table he always sat at during lunch. Takeru was already there, so he sat down on the opposite side and faced him. "Hey," Ken greeted his friend and crossed his arms on the table.  
  
"No lunch today?" Takeru asked with a raised eyebrow at the other boy as he pulled a sandwich out of his green and white lunchbox.  
  
"No..." Ken sighed, "I forgot to bring something from home, and I wouldn't eat any of that school garbage if it was free. Like I need to gain 10 pounds and get some kind of heart disease from one meal."  
  
"Here," Takeru laughed and tossed a sandwich bag with sliced apples inside over at the other boy, "I'm so sick of those, you can have 'em."  
  
"Thanks," Ken smiled and took one out, eating it slowly. After a few minutes of silence Ken felt an awkwardness creep up, but he wasn't sure why. Was he getting that feeling from the other boy across the table for some reason? He really couldn't imagine what Takeru would feel awkward about...  
  
"So uh..." Takeru began slowly, a serious look on his face.,"You and Daisuke... you guys work all that out?"  
  
"Yeah, we're fine," Ken answered and sighed a little when he realized what Takeru was referring to. Maybe that was why he'd felt an awkwardness between them. The other boy had probably been unsure what to say or something, "Just had to handle a misunderstanding from earlier, that's all."  
  
"Ah..." Takeru frowned a bit, appearing to have something else on his mind. "You... you and Daisuke, you guys are..." But then he stopped and seemed unsure what else to say, "Never mind." Takeru shook his head and smiled, taking a bite out of his sandwich.  
  
Ken frowned, feeling confused now. What was Takeru going to ask? He didn't get a chance to ask him though because at that moment he noticed Daisuke walking stiffly towards their table. He had a frown on his face, Hikari following along behind him. Had something happened?  
  
The redhead flopped down next to Ken on his right side, Hikari sitting across from him and next to Takeru. Immediately the table was engulfed in an awkward silence, Takeru still seeming to have something on his mind, and the two new occupants appearing to have just had some kind of disagreement. He didn't know for sure that it had been that, but considering that Daisuke wasn't looking at Hikari, and Hikari was looking sad about something... well, it was just a hunch.  
  
"Uh..." Ken cleared his throat after another moment of silence passed, "Everything okay guys?"

 

Daisuke slightly raised his hand and shook his head at the question so Ken knew to leave it at bay, he wasn't wanting to be questioned again. Though he knew that Hikari's point of view it was an honest question, but still Daisuke's defenses rose to high alert. He slumped back in the chair trying to find a way to change the topic at hand. He too, felt the tension in the air, plus the awkwardness of sitting across from the person who he obviously just had a disagreement with.  
  
It didn't take long before they were joined by Miyako, who sat on the opposite side of Ken, "Hey guys," she said, setting down her things before noticing the silence looming over the table. Daisuke was surprised that she hadn't made a comment about the remark he had made to her that morning the second she walked up to the table. Miyako pulled out the pre-made salad she had gotten from her family's convenient store and started munching on it.  
  
"So, Hikari" she said, trying to break the silence, "did you ever get confirmation on if Sora got the reservations at Utsukushi Niwa's?"  
  
Daisuke's, listening to the girl, unconsciously reached over and took an apple slice from Ken and popped it in his mouth. When his friend protested, Daisuke smiled at him, "Sorry, but you know something always tastes better when it's not yours. He turned his attention back to Miyako, "So, what's the reservation for?"

 

Ken might not have been as blunt or tactless as Daisuke, keeping a cool composure as much as physically possible and caring highly about his public appearance. However, that didn't mean he was pure of mind. The moment his best friend had finished speaking, Ken had to push back the urge to laugh and blush at the implications that could be made from the other boy's comment. Was Daisuke saying that Ken would 'taste' especially good since he wasn't 'his', or was Ken just reading into things too much? Ken honestly couldn't tell if that had been some kind of concealed flirt, or just his own mind tainting things that didn't need to be. In either case though, Ken kept his cool. However, he couldn't help but nudge the other boy firmly in the leg with his right knee. Hopefully Daisuke would realize what he was referring to.

 

            Daisuke was never good at keeping his laughter in, however on this one he managed to hold it back with a clearing of the throat and chewing the sliced apple. He knew Ken was slightly flustered by the comment which actually came out the wrong way and he didn't catch the words until they had already slipped out. However he went with it anyways.  
  
The cinnamon haired boy did however catch a glimpse at the inquisitive look Takeru had flashed at him before it faded away in the conversation that had emerged around them.

 

"Huh?" Ken suddenly snapped back to reality when his friend asked Miyako about the reservation, "Did I miss something?"  
  
"No, we only just started planning it." Miyako ate another bite of her salad.  
  
"Sora is getting us a reservation at Utsukushi Niwa Cafe," Hikari seemed to cheer up. "It's for the annual Chosen reunion. We're going to meet up for lunch at the Cafe and then go relax at the park across the street from it. It's got a nice river and flowers, so it'll be fun."  
  
"Ah," Ken nodded, deep down feeling a bit nervous. He cared about all of the Chosen, but he just didn't do well in large groups. Being around the younger Chosen was easier for him because they were his closest friends, and he was able to be himself easier around them. However, being around all of the older Chosen too had the tendency to make him shy away. Then again, Daisuke was usually able to break him out of his shell and find something for them to do.  
  
"So," Miyako turned back to Hikari. "Did she get the reservation?"  
  
"Yeah, it's going to be in two weeks on Saturday at 1pm. I'm going to mail invitations to everyone just in case someone forgets though, that way they'll have all the details on paper."  
  
"Sounds good." Miyako smiled, and then glanced over at Ken and Daisuke. "Oh hey, what was up with you two this morning? Everything cool now?"  
  
"Yeah." Ken quickly replied before Daisuke got upset. "We worked it out, it's fine." Ken gave a sweet smile and Miyako blushed a bit. Immediacy the dark haired boy looked away awkwardly, not having meant to make her get all... fangirly.

 

Daisuke laid his head on his crossed arms on the table, looking between Miyako and Hikari as they spoke about the annual reunion they had. He honestly had forgotten it was coming up. When Miyako started her usual flirtatious antics Daisuke rolled his eyes and looked away, he knew where that was going. He was grateful that she didn't ask any more questions about their fight after Ken told her they pretty much had worked it out.  
  
Then a thought occurred to him, "Utsukushi Niwa Cafe... doesn't that place have a bar?" he asked with a goofy grin growing on his face.  
  
Miyako and the others turned their heads to him and fell silent. Daisuke sat up right in his chair and cocked his head to the side, "What?"  
  
"Daisuke," Takeru said shaking his head, "it does, but you don't need to drink. You are loud, clumsy, and weird enough." It was then that the table broke out into laughter, making Daisuke give the blonde a sour face and resting his head again.  
  
"By the way, Daisuke," Miyako said standing and walking over to the other side of him, "I was meaning to ask you what had happened to your jaw. It looks pretty bad." She touched the bruise around the gash, but pulled away when the redhead flinched.  
  
The darker teen rose up enough to look at her and thought for a moment. He and Ken knew that that was the last thing he wanted brought up, but since he kinda felt a little bad about snapping at her that morning for no real reason. He looked around the table, feeling all eyes on him, especially Hikari's. "Well, Miyako, according to Mr. Takashi here, I'm loud, clumsy, and weird," he flashed a glare over to Takeru, "and when you're clumsy things like this happen," he said with a smile.  
  
Daisuke was amazed he had kept his cool and gave himself a mental pat on the back as Miyako smiled and made her way back to her seat.  
  
He nudged Ken with his foot and gave a cocky smile, "Actually, I lied. Ken beat me up," he said, laying his head back down, letting out a few chuckles.

 

"That's right!" Ken nodded through laughter. "I just, you know, went all Judo on him and uh... drove his face into the dirt or something."  
  
The group all laughed, including Daisuke, and Ken shook his head at the ridiculousness of his own comment, laughing along with them. He was able to let loose a little bit in this group because it wasn't too big, but he would probably feel too nervous to crack jokes or laugh during the reunion. No, no... he wasn't going to think that way. He had to stop feeling like the older kids were judging him.  


The ridiculous comment Ken had made sent Daisuke over the edge into a fit of laughter. Ken could normally come up with a more well versed, witty comeback, so when he spouted this out, it took Daisuke aback before he could no longer help himself. He was glad that his friend went along with what he had said to lighten the situation up. He knew that the others had questions, but he wasn't ready to answer them…if he ever did answer them. Also he enjoyed when Ken laughed. Very rarely did Ken laugh hard and just be himself around the others. He had seen who Ken really was and that was the Ken that Daisuke wanted to be around all the time. He loved when Ken would come out of his shell and showed everyone that he wasn't stiff and reserved, but that he was indeed human.

 

            Ken stopped laughing first, what Daisuke had previously said sinking in now. He was interested in whether or not the cafe had a bar, was he? Was he getting the urge to drink now or something? He supposed the other boy could have been joking around, but... it was hard to assume that things were casual with him anymore. He'd just have to keep an eye on him while they were at the reunion and make sure he wasn't trying to sneak drinks or something.  
  
The group continued eating together after that, the feeling between them finally remaining lighthearted. Ken really wasn't sure what had happened between Daisuke and Hikari previously, but he had a feeling it had to do with her asking too many questions. She was the type to do that, and right now Daisuke was touchy about which ones he answered.  
  
Soon enough the bell rang and it was time for Ken's math class with Daisuke. The two of them made their way to the classroom together, picking up their books along the way.  
  
"Oh..." Ken trailed off and looked at his friend. "We never worked on your math. Did you get the homework done on your own?"

 

            After lunch was over and Ken and Daisuke made their way to their math class where Ken asked him whether or not he had finished his homework that he was supposed to help him with over the weekend. Daisuke laughed nervously at that question, "Yeah, I did, but I don't think it is right. I was in a bit of a haze, so I didn't really concentrate too hard on it. It almost looks like I had a seizure on paper," he said taking his seat next to Ken.  
  
The whole class went by almost completely unnoticed by Daisuke. His mind had started wondering over to Ken. Throughout the class Daisuke's gaze kept landing on his friend and before long he felt his heart beating fast. He couldn't help but feel compelled to watch his every move. This progressed through the week, Ken would be paying attention to the instructor and Daisuke would he watching him do so. Several times he was called on to answer problems, but half the time didn't even have his book open. All he could do was sit there and focus on Ken, the way he chewed on his pencil or brushed his soft hair behind his ear.  
  
It wasn't until that Friday at Ken's house that he had realized that he probably should have been paying more attention in class. It was the fifth time Ken had showed him how to do this problem and every time he looked at it Daisuke could swear it was written in Arabic. He let out a stressful growl and crinkled up the paper that lay before him and threw it over his shoulder, "I just don't friggin' get it!" he shouted, rubbing his hands over his face in frustration. The tanned boy came to his feet and stretched.  
  
"Gah! This shit is starting to get on my nerves. I don't see how you understand it. I really don't," he said, taking his seat again next to his jogress partner. Though Daisuke knew why he didn’t understand it, it was the first time he actually sat down and looked at it all week. But he would never admit that even though he was positive that Ken knew the answer or was at least somewhere in the ballpark.

 

            Ken sighed when his friend crumpled up his paper and threw it over his shoulder, keeping his patience in as best he could. Daisuke could be very frustrating to help at times... especially when it was with his math work. They had to just keep pushing through it though. His friend would never pass school if someone didn't help him with math, and Ken really doubted anyone else was going to do it. Other people had tried to tutor him, but always gave up because of how stubborn the boy was.  
  
The slender boy rubbed his face with his hands and sighed, leaning back in the chair to look up at the ceiling as his friend pouted in his own chair. This was just... ridiculous. What could be causing Daisuke so much trouble with math this week? Normally he needed some pointers and reminders, sure, but the basic concepts were in. This week it was like he hadn't even been there at all, and was now trying to do the homework with no idea what was going on or something!  
  
"You did well enough last week..." Ken finally said, flipping back to the work from the previous Friday when he hadn't been able to help Daisuke due to... certain events. "You got a pretty good grade on the test Monday morning, so even though I wasn't able to help you last weekend I think you still got it... so is it just the new stuff we did this week? It's like you weren't paying attention at all or something, and I mean worse than normal."

 

"I.. I was paying attention," he protested, obviously lying, "I just don't know why I'm not understanding it." He let his head fall into his hands as Ken started questioning how Daisuke couldn't understand what he was talking about, math wise, because it was close to what they had been doing, just a few more steps to it. Daisuke slipped out of his chair and sat down on the floor. He reached for the bag of snacks he and Ken had gotten on their way over and pulled out a bag of marshmallows.  
  
He popped a large fluffy treat into his mouth before realizing that Ken was giving him an irritated glare. He rolled his eyes and said with his mouth full, "What?"  
  
Daisuke swallowed the treat and put the bag up, "Fine." He knew that look anywhere, no words were needed. He knew that he could be thick headed at times, but he knew if Ken wouldn't help him nobody else would. So he climbed back into the opposing chair and tried the problem again. Before he was done Daisuke had a headache coming on. It took him roughly fifteen minutes to finally figure out what it was he was doing wrong.  
  
It was the biggest sigh of relief when Ken told him he had done it right and wanted him to do another one. Daisuke sighed heavily, “Come on, my head hurts, let's take a break.”

 

"Alright," Ken smiled at the other boy, relieved that he finally got one of the problems right. They had been working for a while now, and he could use a break too. It wasn't that he didn't want to help Daisuke with his math work, it just... really took it out of him sometimes. So a break would be good, that way they could relax their minds and get back to work later.  
  
Ken sat down on the floor where his own snacks were, a bag of veggie chips and two cans of Zevia soda. He didn't drink normal soda because of how much sugar was in it, or diet sodas because the aspartame was even worse for you. So he'd gone out of his way to find a healthy alternative that was sweetened with an herb instead of something harmful. Daisuke scoffed at how health conscious he was a lot of the time, but Ken didn't care. His body mattered to him.  


Daisuke sat down next to Ken, and the slender boy watched as he popped another marshmallow into his mouth. "It's a good thing you work out so much." Ken shook his head, laughing a little. "Otherwise you'd surely be fat by now, the way you eat."  
  
Ken set his hand down on the floor and was surprised when he felt something warm. He looked down and discovered that he'd placed it on top of Daisuke's hand, and pulled it away quickly. "Sorry," Ken cleared his throat and distracted himself by looking over at the clock. His parents would be home soon, but they told him they'd bring dinner home tonight so he didn't need to cook anything at least. They knew Daisuke was there, so they were bringing him something too.

 

When Ken placed his hand on Daisuke's, the cinnamon haired boy felt his heart skip a beat. He looked down on it to make sure he wasn't just imagining things. Though it was only short lived when Ken quickly pulled his hand away and a silence between them would follow as Daisuke munched on another marshmallow and took a surprisingly long gulp from his nasty drink. He still wasn't sure why Ken acted the way he did when he and Daisuke would touch hands or would tease him. He knew how Daisuke felt about him and vice versa, but even so it made Daisuke want to try more, see how far Ken would actually let him go.  
  
Daisuke put the bag of marshmallows away and grabbed Ken's nasty drink out of his hand and took a gulp out of it before the other could protest. Immediately Daisuke wanted to spit the offending beverage out of his mouth, but instead swallowed it. "Ew, that's gross, but I didn't feel like getting up," he said setting the drink to the side. It did occur to him that Ken was right about one thing: Daisuke could be one of the laziest people at times and if it weren't for soccer and his sudden energy bursts he would most likely weigh about 300 pounds.  
  
Daisuke sighed, breaking the silence that surrounded them. Slowly reached over to Ken's hand the settled on his knee and traced his fingers lightly, sending chills down his friend's spine. Daisuke could see the soft glow appear on his pale cheeks, which only encouraged him to continue. His fingers began to dance up the length of Ken's arm to his collar bone. Daisuke's heart began to pick up pace when he realized that Ken was allowing him to continue.  
  
A small smile graced his lips as he moved closer to the indigo haired teen, taking his other hand and mimicking his movements to Ken's other side. He could feel his friend beginning to tremble under his touch, which sent chills through Daisuke. He loved the touch of Ken's skin under his, the smell of his hair, the pure essence of him. He knew that he liked Ken more than a friend, but it seemed to progress more every time they were together.  
  
Daisuke let Ken fall back on him. His fingers running over the exposed skin on his neck, and brushing through his hair. He didn't know what the other Chosen Children were going to think if they ever were to walk in and see them like this. Daisuke figured it could only go one of two ways and that was either they would accept it and had seen it coming, or they would be horribly disgusted and shun them. And if that were to be the case, then Daisuke would gladly let them go.  
  
The cinnamon haired teen shifted around to where he was almost on top of his friend, peering down into those beautiful indigo eyes and smiled.

 

            Ken scowled when the other boy grabbed his drink and took a big gulp from it. Those were expensive, darn it! More than twice the cost of a regular soda. Gosh... why hadn't Daisuke just gotten his own drink? He'd gone to the effort of buying one from the store and he wasn't even going to drink it? What a waste of money... that boy was just so lazy, it was ridiculous sometimes. Daisuke better not have gone and drank a lot of it, and only taken a small drink... What was he going to do with that boy? Maybe he should just try-  
  
The moment his friend's hand touched his knee, Ken felt his heart start beating quicker and a blush rush to his cheeks, all thoughts wiped from his mind. His breath caught in his throat and shivers ran through his spine as fingers began trailing up to his collar bone, then another hand, and before he knew it the other boy was hovering above him. There was a small voice in the back of Ken's mind trying to remind him about the fact that his parents would be home soon, and that he still hadn't handled things with his family. He couldn't really hear it though, and even if he could, he wasn't really listening.  
  
Once their eyes met and Daisuke gave him a soft smile, Ken felt his heart melt in his chest and his breath come out shakier than before. He couldn't bring himself to look away as Daisuke got closer, their lips inches away now.  
  
"D-Dai..." Ken managed to whisper, unable to finish saying his friend's name before his voice failed him. It was at that moment that Ken realized just how attractive his best friend really was. His skin was amazingly tan, healthy and darkened by the sunlight. His eyes were chocolate brown, a deeper shade than most brown eyes were, and it was hard to look away from them. His body was also pretty toned by now after all the soccer training and all of the energetic playfulness in the boy's system. These features were easy enough to see with how tight Daisuke's shirts always were. The other boy's face had matured quite a bit over the years, and he was taking better care of his hair. It was still wild and spiky, but far more controlled than back when they were kids. It looked great actually, and fit is personality perfectly.  
  
Ken felt his blush deepen when he realized he'd totally been checking the other boy out, and to an obvious extent. He felt embarrassed and found himself backing up. "I-I'm sorry D-Daisuke..." Ken's voice was breathless as he tried to apologize for staring at the other boy. "I w-was just-" Ken's stuttering was cut off when his back hit the wall behind him and he couldn't go any further.

 

Daisuke was, by then, almost completely entranced by Ken. He just couldn't get enough of him. When their eyes locked, he could feel himself unable to look away. Their faces were so close, noses almost touching, and practically sharing breath. His tanned hands still running over Ken's warm, pale skin. Every time he touched him he could feel every nerve in his fingertips tingle. Daisuke felt his own breath become shaken and his heartbeat speeding up more. It almost felt as if time has stopped.  
  
Daisuke could hear Ken utter his name in a soft whisper. Suddenly he could see Ken's eyes wondering from all over his body from head to toe and he couldn't help, but wish at that moment he could read minds. His best friend was checking him out and he wanted to know what was going through his mind. Daisuke, too, began to study Ken's maturing features. Granted Daisuke had been staring almost constantly at his friend for that entire week during their math class, but also he has never had this intimate of an encounter with the other teen.  
  
It was then he realized that they had moved from their spot to the wall and Ken's back was now resting against it. Ken began to apologize for his actions and Daisuke didn't understand why. He wasn't angry with him or found it rude, in fact he welcomed it, "Don't apologize..." he whispered in a deep husky voice, just loud enough for Ken to hear as he ran his hand over the a spot on the indigo haired teen's neck which obviously sent shivers through him.  
  
The cinnamon haired teen leaned in close, he could feel Ken's heavy breath mash with his own. For a moment Daisuke hesitated, his heart was pounding against his ribs. For some time, he wanted to be living this moment, but now that he was there...

 

Ken looked at Daisuke's lips, only a few inches away from his own, and then back up into the other boy's eyes. He could see the passion and desire in them, and Ken felt those same feelings spark in his chest. He knew he shouldn't want this. He should be pushing the other boy away or at least asking him to stop, but he just couldn't bring himself to do that no matter how much his responsibility yelled at him. He didn't want Daisuke to get further away from him, and in fact, he wanted him closer.  
  
However, the tanned boy wasn't getting any closer anymore. He was only a few inches away from him at most, but he'd frozen in place and was just staring at him now. Their breathing was shaky and Ken felt himself starting to sweat from their body heat mingling for so long.  
  
Before he realized what he was doing, his eyes had slowly shut, and he leaned his head forward to close the distance between them. The moment their lips touched, Ken felt his body melt and shivers run all throughout him, stronger than ever before. Anything he'd been thinking about before was wiped from his mind as Daisuke pulled him down and away from the wall, so that he was lying completely on his back on the floor now with the other boy over top of him.  
  
Ken felt one of Daisuke's hands in his hair seconds later, and their lips press together firmer. The tanned boy's other hand was on the side of his face, tilting it up to deepen the contact. Ken couldn't stop the moan from escaping his throat, and he took shaky breaths in through his nose. His head started to spin a bit and get very light, his chest hot and his cheeks burning.  
  
Ken pushed his lips harder against the other boy's, running his hands up to wrap around his friend's neck.

 

Just as Daisuke was about to back away, the last thing he was expecting was Ken to lean forward and closed the space between them, in a passionate kiss. His heart nearly stopped in his chest from the initial shock of it all. He felt all the tenseness soon melt away, as his eyes slowly closed. He smiled against Ken's soft lips, slowly pulling him away from the wall and leaning him down where his back rested on the floor and Daisuke now over him.  
  
He had never felt so much joy in his life. He wanted to touch the body below him as much as he could; he knew this wasn't going to last forever. So Daisuke found one of his hands tangling its self in Ken's hair with the other caressing his cheek. Daisuke drew in deep breaths from his nose to refrain from passing out. His dark hand that cupped Ken's cheek moved down and slowly tilted his head back, deepening there kiss.  
  
Daisuke could feel every part of their bodies glowing with the heat between them and when he heard that song of encouragement come from Ken in a soft moan, every nerve within him caught on fire. He felt as if he had one thousand butterflies in him flying around. Soon Ken had slipped his arms around Daisuke's shoulders and pressed more passion into their kiss, causing Daisuke's head to swim and a soft moan to escape. He felt delicate fingers teasing him at the nape of his neck, and Ken's body pressed firmly against his.  
  
The hand he had tangled in his friend's hair fell free and traveled along the teen's slender body, teasing at Ken's side. He felt the other's body slightly tense when his hot hand slipped under the loose material of Ken's shirt and ran along the length of his body. Daisuke felt Ken take deeper breaths, when his hand moved up around his ribcage, and back down again.

 

Ken panted through the kiss and arched his back when the other boy started running his hands under his shirt and along his sides, pressing his chest into Daisuke. He was desperate to be closer to him somehow, no matter what it took. He felt his own hands grasping in Daisuke's hair and running along his neck, shoulders and upper back.

 

Daisuke pressed against Ken with equal force, feeling his jogress partner's heavy breaths against his chest. His body tingled at the pale hands touching him from his neck to shoulders to his upper back. The sounds of Ken’s moans were no doubt the biggest turn on for Daisuke, making him want to hear more of them. He slowly ran his tongue over Ken's slightly swollen lips to see if he would allow him access, with shortly after he did. Daisuke wasted no time waiting before slipping inside of Ken's mouth daringly trying to taste every inch of his mouth.  
  
            The slender boy felt his friend's tongue slide against his bottom lip for a moment, as though asking for permission to explore further. Ken felt a shiver run down his spine, and he opened his mouth to accept it. Both of their tongues roamed and slid, and Ken could taste the marshmallows and soda in his friend's mouth. He could also taste something similar to a hot spice, which he could tell was Daisuke himself.  
  
"Dai-chan...!" Ken gasped, breaking the kiss for a moment to get some air. Before he had a chance to say or do anything else, his friend was driving his lips back down on his, and Ken moaned desperately when his tongue was back in his mouth.  


He had shivers sent down his body when he felt Ken returning this gesture with equal recklessness. Daisuke's mind began a foggy haze, feeling pure bliss and ecstasy, causing him to unconsciously move his hips into Ken's, rubbing sensitive areas, sending a shock wave of pleasure through both of them. This caused Ken to break away from their kiss, panting, saying Daisuke's name.  
  
Daisuke only allowed the break be short lived before connecting their lips again and allowing their tongues to dance once more.  


Suddenly there was a loud knock on his door, and Ken shoved Daisuke off of him harshly. He felt as though a cold bucket of water had been thrown on him, and his heart was racing as he tried to compose himself.  
  
"Y-Yeah?" Ken asked, his voice just as shaky as before. He cleared his throat and tried to sound normal, but wasn't sure if he could, "Sorry, yes?"  
  
"Are you alright in there Ken?" Mr. Ichijouji's voice floated through the door and Ken felt his heart drop. Oh god...  
  
"Yeah I'm fine dad!" Ken quickly ran his fingers through his hair to try and make it seem less... messed with, and straightened his clothes. "I was... trying to move something heavy, but I got it. Sorry if I was loud!"  
  
"Ah," Mr. Ichijouji seemed to believe him without question, "Well we brought dinner, so if you and Daisuke want to have some you should come out now while it's still warm."  
  
"Okay!" Ken breathed a sigh of relief when his father's footsteps retreated away from his unlocked bedroom door, thanking any Gods that might have been listening that he hadn't simply walked into the room without warning. Ken felt his eyes travel over to his friend after that, no idea what he should say.

 

The next thing Daisuke knew he heard a loud noise and he was on the floor, quite a distance away from his jogress partner, where he was left hot and bothered. He looked up to see Ken standing, trying to fix his composure with a scared look on his face. Then the most frightening sound he heard was coming from the other side of the door, Mr. Ichijouji asking questions. Daisuke quickly sat up and moved to where his back rested against the coolness of Ken's bed frame.  
  
Daisuke's heart was pounding intensely within him as he tried to control his harsh pants, listening to Ken snap out an explanation for the rustling around and odd noises that must have been heard depending on how long he had been home. But Daisuke had a huge sigh of relief when Mr. Ichijouji accepted the explanation and left. It was then that Daisuke tried fixing his clothes and hair to make it look as if nothing had happened. His eyes were fixed on Ken, who at this point looked absolutely speechless.  
  
At this point that Daisuke was almost as speechless as Ken. There wasn't anything coming to mind. Suddenly a smile cracked onto his face and small chuckles followed after. He shook his head in disbelief, trying to let everything sink in. He started laughing, knowing Ken may get mad, he couldn't help himself and didn't even know what was funny, and he just had to laugh.

 

Ken looked over at his laughing friend, confused beyond belief. How could he possibly be laughing after something like that?! They had nearly been caught fiercely making out by his father, who he had good reason to believe may have had a heart attack on the spot. Speaking of which, how could they have been so reckless in the first place? Neither of them had locked the door and they both knew that his parents would be home soon... lord, what had come over him?  
  
Ken's heart was still racing and the blush had not yet left his cheeks. He couldn't deny it though... that had been incredible. Every bit of it, and part of him wished it hadn't had to stop. It was then that Ken's eyes traveled back over to his still laughing friend, and suddenly the slender boy burst into giggles as well. What the heck? Why was _HE_ laughing now too?!  
  
He had no idea how much time passed, both of them cracking up in the middle of his bedroom. Eventually they calmed down though, and Ken took a slow, deep breath. His eyes traveled back over to the redhead, and when their eyes met Ken blushed and looked away, clearing his throat softly. This was so awkward... actually, that had been his very first kiss. Another blush crept up Ken's face when he realized that and he felt himself shift from foot to foot, fiddling with this finger nails.  
  
Maybe he should say something, because this silence was making his ears ring. Ken couldn't help but wonder though. Just how far they would have gone had his father not knocked on the door...  
  
"S-So," Ken stuttered, trying to wipe the images out of his mind before he got all turned on. Again. "There's d-dinner... if you w-want to eat something... mom and dad are p-probably waiting for us to eat with them a-at the table..." Ugh, now he couldn't even speak straight! How embarrassing this whole situation had become...  
  
Oh god, how was he supposed to eat normally around his parents after this? There was no way... especially around his mom. Would she be able to figure out what had happened? Ken rubbed his face with his hands and prayed that he could somehow act normally.

 

Daisuke was still amazed about the intimate kiss they had shared. He didn't know what had come over him, but didn't regret a moment of it. His breathing had calmed after their awkward giggle fit, but his heart still pounded hard in his chest. He instantly missed the moment they both shared, but also will still feeling the effects of it, so to speak. Daisuke wasn't sure if this was Ken's first kiss or not, though he must admit, he was damn good at it. As for Daisuke, he would consider this to be his first. His actual "first kiss" was a small pop kiss from a girl who had a crush on him in the third grade. This, to him, was his first kiss and also one of the most exhilarating and passionate moments of his life.  
  
He had yet to speak to Ken because he honestly didn't know what to say. He knew that he needed to think quick or Ken's parents would soon be back and begin to wonder why the two have yet to come out of the room. But all he could do was stare at his best friend with wondering eyes. It was obvious that Ken's nerves were still on edge. His words were shaken, he was very fidgety, and he wasn't really making eye contact with Daisuke.  
  
He learned very quickly if this were to ever happen again, the first thing they were going to have to do is lock the door before even getting to that point. Though he began to wonder if Ken was regretting this or if he was just shaken up from the thought of his father walking in and seeing them during an intense make-out session.  
  
Daisuke came to his feet and slowly approached Ken, placing his hand on his shoulder, "You need to relax or they will know something's up. If it helps I'll do a lot of the talking," he said in a low tone, just to make sure he couldn't be heard. He leaned in and gave Ken a quick peck on his burning hot cheek before heading out of the room and to the kitchen where Ken's parents were waiting patiently.

 

Ken felt his face burst into yet another heated blush after Daisuke had left a small kiss on his cheek, heading over to the kitchen where dinner was waiting for them. After that he walked across the hall and into the bathroom, turning on the sink and splashing some cold water on his face. It helped, and he felt himself physically relax quite a bit.  
  
_'I need to calm down,'_ Ken thought with determination and nodded, drying his face quickly. He just had to act normally. Make some small talk and smile or laugh when appropriate. His dad hadn't heard enough to figure anything out, and he'd believed the story Ken had given him. As for his mother, she hadn't heard anything so he was fine. Well... he didn't know that she hadn't heard... but he figured it would have been her to knock if she had. His moans could have easily been from the strain of lifting something heavy, but what should he tell his parents if they asked what he'd been moving? Uh... his dresser would work, he could just say he dropped something behind it. As for his stuttering... maybe his throat hurt or something. There, problem solved!  
  
Feeling much better now, Ken left the bathroom and walked into the kitchen where Daisuke was already sitting, currently located directly across the table from his father. His mother, who was putting their food on plates, was probably going to want to sit next to her husband, so Ken sat next to Daisuke with their backs to the kitchen window.  
  
"Ah, there you are." Mr. Ichijouji smiled and took a sip from his water. "You alright? Your voice sounded strained before."  
  
"Oh, yeah I'm fine." Ken nodded and took a drink from his own water. "I just have a bit of a sore throat today is all. I woke up with it, and moving the dresser strained it a bit."  
  
"Your dresser?" His father frowned a bit, and Ken felt nervous when Daisuke visibly froze up next to him. "But Daisuke said that you were moving the table."  
  
"Ah—" Ken cleared his throat and thought fast, trying not to blush or make it obvious that he'd messed up. "Well yeah, we moved the table first and then I bumped into my dresser and knocked Osamu's picture frame behind it, so... I had to get it back."  
  
"Oh." Mr. Ichijouji laughed and shook his head. "Well I'm glad you got it back, we wouldn't want his picture on the floor."  
  
"No, we wouldn't." Ken released a slow, quiet breath of relief and prayed that dinner would end very quickly tonight...

 

When Ken finally joined them at the table he could see that Ken had calmed down. He had told Mr. Ichijouji, when asked, that they were moving the table because it was the only thing he could think of that was heavy off of the top of his head. However he didn't enjoy his victory of actually telling a believable lie, for too long. Ken had told his father they were moving something else. When Mr. Ichijouji began questioning them, Daisuke immediately began to panic. His body stiffened up and he could feel his heart pound in his chest, and his thumb nail became suddenly very interesting.  
  
He still found it hard to believe how good of a liar Ken was at times. He just was glad that his parents bought it or at least his dad anyways. Daisuke couldn’t help but feel that Mrs. Ichijouji knew that something was amiss about their story. However she just smiled sweetly as she brought over their plates, "Thank you, ma'am," he said before digging in. Guess he figured a fierce make out session and almost being caught sure did work up an appetite.  
  
Throughout dinner Ken didn't say too much, but Daisuke tried to keep his parents attention talking about sports, school, personal stories, anything he could think of that didn't involve their "moving furniture" about Ken's room. He could see how Ken was slowly, but surely relaxing beside him, and every so often would also join in and by the end of their dinner it seemed that Mr. Ichijouji had forgotten about the incident.

 

As dinner progressed Ken felt himself relaxing, happy that Daisuke had a lot to talk about. He wished he'd just been quiet in the first place like his friend had suggested... that way the issue with the table/dresser wouldn't have come up. Oh well, he'd managed to come up with something on the spot so at least that was handled. He hated lying to his parents, but in a situation like this he really didn't have much of a choice.  
  
Ken found himself glancing over at his mother a lot, wondering if she was suspicious or if she'd heard anything before when they'd been in his room. He wished he could read minds... but unfortunately he couldn't, and if he asked her about it than that would only make it more obvious that something was up.  


Daisuke thanked them again before standing and taking everyone's plates and walked to the kitchen, over the years Daisuke had become accustom to doing them after Ken's parents would feed him. He figured that they understood how dysfunctional his home life was with his parents hardly there and his sister who always gave him a hard time.

 

Ken handed his plate to Daisuke after dinner and walked over to the sink with him to help with dishes. His friend used to insist that he do it alone, but Ken never accepted that request and by now Daisuke seemed to have given up asking.  
  
"I'm going to watch my game show." Mr. Ichijouji stood up and headed into the living room.  
  
"Oh, wait for me!" Mrs. Ichijouji smiled and followed after her husband. Ken watched the kitchen door shut, and he was left alone in the room with Daisuke. It was quiet between them after that, but it actually wasn't awkward for once. They finished the dishes pretty quickly and put them away. Ken leaned against the counter and glanced at the other boy.  
  
What did all of this mean for them now? After such an intense make out session, did that mean they were dating now or something? Was it just some kind of 'friend's with benefits' thing? Or was it simply a onetime occurrence and wouldn't happen again? What did Daisuke want it to be? While he was at it, what did HE want it to be? Ken didn't know if he was ready to be in an official relationship with the other boy yet, and he didn't want them to just fool around but not have it mean anything. He also didn't want it to never happen again...  
  
"Ugh," Ken sighed out loud, not having meant to. "Uh, sorry," He blushed when his friend looked at him. "I just find all of this very confusing."

 

After doing the few dishes they had in silence Ken finally spoke. He figured something like this would happen. He and Ken weren't officially together, in Daisuke's eyes anyway, he mainly saw it as them reacting to hormones. Though it had become obvious that they were getting closer to that point, but couldn't until Ken was ready and also told his father. Daisuke wasn't sure how long that would take, but Ken was well worth the wait. Daisuke began to think of when he would tell his parents. He figured it to only be fair to them as well as it would be to Ken. Daisuke wouldn't be sure how his parents or his sister would react, but even if his parents weren't too keen on it, he had a feeling that maybe his sister would probably be okay with it.  
  
There was one thing that Daisuke agreed with Ken over and that was that things were indeed confusing and complicated, but he didn't regret any of those actions. In fact, he would love to experience it again. Daisuke had thought over the past week how a relationship with Ken would be, and the only thing he could think of would be it generally staying the same except they would be more intimate with each other.  
  
The cinnamon haired teen smiled at his friend's outburst," Yes, it is indeed confusing..."  
  
He jumped up and sat on the counter and sighed, thinking about whether or not he should stay and finish his homework with Ken, or if his friend would be uncomfortable around him after their... hot and crazy face sucking moment. Which every time Daisuke thought about it, it sent chills through him.  
  
"Ken?" he asked looking over at him, "Do you regret it?"

 

Ken frowned and looked out through the kitchen window, thinking about the question he was just asked. Did he regret it... such a simple question, but with so many complicated answers. There were many things that Ken was regretting right now, such as lying to his father and not locking the door to his bedroom. He also regretted the fact that he might be putting his relationship with his family and friends at risk. However, when it came to what he and Daisuke had done...  
  
"I don't know," Ken finally answered, a sigh escaping his lips. "I don't regret what we did at all, it was... nice. It's just that, if you and I were to try being together and somehow our friendship was harmed because of it... or if it ruined the relationship with my family... I think I'd regret it then."  
  
The slender boy looked over at the kitchen door, the sounds of his parent's game show floating through the crack underneath it.  
  
"I wish I could read minds... does my mom suspect?" Ken asked out loud, both to his friend and to himself. "Does dad know I lied, and how much did he even hear? How will your family react, or how about the others?" Ken looked back over at his friend, turning to face him. "On top of that I have no idea what you're thinking at all. Do you regret it, or are you serious about trying to be with me?" Ken felt a grin form on his lips. "And seriously, was that really your first kiss? I mean, you were pretty... intense for someone who has never told me about having kissed a girl before."

 

Daisuke shook his head as his friend look as if he were about to wage war with himself. He knew Ken was the kind of person to look ahead and thought carefully before acting, unlike him who just did whatever and then thought of the consequences later. He understood why Ken would think there friendship would suffer, but Daisuke believed that their friendship would pretty much stay the same.  
  
He couldn't help but chuckle some when Ken began to question his kissing ability, "Yes, that was my first time... well, that I will consider my first. Technically, my first kiss was from a girl by the name of Miku in the third grade." Daisuke had a big grin come on his face when he saw Ken's eyebrow raise in question. Daisuke hopped off the counter and walked over and stood next to his friend.  
  
"Sorry, Ken, you weren't the first, but I must say..." he paused with a smile, placing his hand on Ken's shoulder "you were definitely the best." Daisuke felt the urge to kiss him again, but didn't. He leaned back unto the counter and cast his eyes to the ceiling.  
  
"If you are wanting to know what I am thinking, I was thinking about how I was going to tell my parents," he said with a softer tone, "I want to tell them, but I'm not exactly sure what to say. Because I don't want to be with anyone, but you and today proved it. I enjoyed every moment of it, no regrets whatsoever." 

 

Immediately after Daisuke explained about Miku, Ken felt jealousy erupt in his chest. He never would have considered himself the type for that, or someone who cared a lot about a first kiss. In all honesty it didn't really matter that much. However, even knowing that, he really had wanted to have been Daisuke's first...  
  
Daisuke's hand left Ken's shoulder and he moved back a bit, explaining some more of his thoughts. Ken felt himself relax a bit when the other boy said that he didn't regret what they'd done at all. He didn't regret it either, he was just nervous about the future is really all it was. He couldn't help it... he was just the type of person to worry about things a lot, especially when it involved his friendship with Daisuke.  
  
"Thanks," Ken smiled at the other boy, trying to put his jealousy behind him. He hoped that Daisuke couldn't tell... it was kind of embarrassing actually. He met his friend's eyes again, and he felt a tugging between them. He had the urge to kiss the other boy, and from the look on Daisuke's face, he was pretty sure that he wanted it too.  
  
"Anyway, do you want to keep studying?" Ken asked before things got heated between them in the kitchen, not wanting to risk someone walking in on them again. It's not like he could lock that door, and he probably wouldn't even if he could. That would seem pretty suspicious. "You got that one problem right, but you really should at least practice some more before we end off tonight."  
  
Then again... was it a good idea to go back into the privacy of his bedroom with Daisuke to study more if he didn't want to risk them going at it again? The other boy really did need to work on his math more though...

 

Daisuke thought for a moment. He knew if they went back into Ken's room there would be some, well a lot of, temptation. However, after looking over at the clock and seeing it wasn't that late, he decided he would stay a while longer. He did need some more help on his math, because of him oogling Ken all week. Just getting one problem right didn't mean much in Daisuke's case, for it to completely sink in, it normally took several times through.  
  
"We can go work on it some more," he chimed with a smile, "and I'll keep my hands to myself..."  
  
The redhead made his way back to Ken's room, trying not to be disruptive as possible as Ken's parents sat on the couch in front of the glowing screen. Once he and Ken were back in the bedroom, Daisuke felt his face heat up when he looked down at the floor where he and Ken were at, he didn't look back at his friend, even though if he were to see his face he would know why.  
  
_‘I wonder how I'm gonna tell the 'rents and Jun...’_ he thought, ‘ _I guess I'll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it. I guess in the meantime we're going to have to be cautious if we do anything.’_  
  
He knew that this was going to be harder than he initially thought. But for now he pushed those thoughts out of his head and took a seat in the chair he had been in earlier and began to work on his problems.

Ken was able to get Daisuke through his math work fairly easy after that, and before they knew it he had it down. After that the redhead went home, and Ken decided to just head straight to bed. Sure, it was a Friday night and he could stay up, but he honestly didn't want to. What would he do anyway? The earlier he got up on Saturday anyway, the better the TV shows would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expect a new chapter every week. And if we're feeling up to it we'll post two. :D  
> Kudos, comments, etc are not required but always greatly appreciated.


	4. So Glad We Made It, Time Will Never Change It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunion time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! There is some underage drinking and some violence. Just in case you are uncomfortable with things like this.

The weekend passed quickly, as did the following school week. Daisuke got an A on his math test Monday morning, which actually made Ken happier than Daisuke himself was about it, because the slender boy was glad to know that his tutoring was really helping. The redhead would have gotten an F on it for sure, had it not been for him. It was nice to feel needed.  
  
Eventually Friday once again came, and the two boy's tutoring session went by easily. Daisuke appeared to have paid more attention that week, and nothing too heated occurred between them. Soon it was Saturday morning, the day of their reunion.  
  
Ken heard a knock on his door, knowing exactly who it was. He picked up his thin jacket, wallet and keys, placing them inside the pockets, slipped on his shoes and opened it. There stood Daisuke with a smile on his face and Yamato, who also had a smile, though it was quite a bit more reserved. Yamato was driving everyone to the cafe because of how far it was, so he'd come to pick him up.  
  
"Ready to go?" Yamato asked.  
  
"Yep, I think I have everything." Ken checked his pockets one last time, just to be sure. "Keys, wallet... I don't think we needed anything special, right?"  
  
"Nope, that's it." Yamato nodded and began heading down the hallway. "So let's get going! I don't want to miss the reservation." Ken quickly left the apartment and said goodbye to his parents, shutting the door behind him. He had no idea when he'd be getting back or if his parents would be home when he did, so he made extra sure that his keys were with him. After that, he headed down the hallway after Yamato, Daisuke at his side.  
  
"I hope everyone makes it this year," Ken smiled at his best friend, "It would be nice to see Mimi again, though she'll probably be tired because of the time difference."

 

Daisuke couldn't help but be excited about today. The day was beautiful and he was going to see the whole gang. The week had gone pretty well. He did great on his math test they had that following Monday thanks to Ken's help. Before Ken agreed to tutor him his grades were suffering no matter how hard he studied and tutors he went to. He really owed his friend a lot from taking the time of day to help him. As for Daisuke talking to his parents and Jun, well, that was one thing he had left on the back burner. He thought about what he was going to tell them.  
  
He mulled it over and over and was still almost at the same point where he started. He knew that he was going to tell them something, but he didn't want to misinform them either.  
  
When Yamato showed up he wasn't shocked to see he was a bit early. Now, if it were Taichi, being about an hour late and blaming traffic was expected. He was glad that Jun was still asleep by the time the blonde showed up. Even though she claimed to be over Yamato and had even dated quite a few guys since her obsession with him, she still would flirt with him and talk his ear off.  
  
After they had picked Ken up, Daisuke could feel butterflies well up with in him. Though things had pretty much gone back to normal between them after the fun they had. But Daisuke still couldn't help that every now and again that he would feel his chest tighten or his stomach would be in knots.

He joined Yamato in the car, making minor small talk with the blonde, "So, who is all there?" he asked.  
  
Yamato kept his eyes forward, "So far everyone, except you and Ken. Takeru stayed over with me last night so..." he said leaving the sentence unfinished.  
  
When they arrived at the cafe, Daisuke could see Jyou and Taichi standing out front talking. He felt a grin sprout onto his face as Yamato pulled into a parking spot.

 

Right when they got in the car, Ken felt butterflies fill his chest and he made a point of looking out the window in case he blushed. His mind immediately went to their kiss, and he felt a bit embarrassed. What would Yamato think if he knew about their previous actions together? What would any of the others think? He was pretty sure that Takeru and Hikari wouldn't mind, because they were pretty open minded people. Miyako would either get furious or completely depressed, and Iori would either be disappointed or outright disgusted. He had no idea what to expect of the older kids though, seeing as he didn't interact with them much.  
  
Ken's thoughts were interrupted when they reached the Cafe, Jyou and Taichi standing outside talking. They parked and got out, walking over to the others. Everyone else was sitting at a large booth just big enough for all of them inside.  
  
"Hey!" Taichi grinned and gave Daisuke a high five.  
  
"Oh good, you're here. Miyako is getting hungry and impatient," Jyou sighed and the five of them walked inside and over to their large rectangular table. There were five chairs on one side of the table, five on the other side, and one on each end. At the farthest end sat Jyou. Next to him on the right side Mimi and Sora, and on the left side of the table across from them were Yamato and Taichi, with Koushiro next to Taichi. At the other end of the table where Ken was standing sat Iori, and to his right were two empty chairs with Miyako sitting next to Sora. Across the table to Iori's left were Takeru and Hikari. Daisuke walked over and sat next to Iori, meaning that Ken had to sit...  
  
Between Miyako and Daisuke.  
  
Ken sighed and sat down, able to pick up on Miyako's fluttery heart right away.  
  
"H-Hi Ken!" Miyako stammered and blushed a bit, Ken trying to give as polite a smile as possible without making it flirtatious. Gods Daisuke... couldn't he have sat next to Miyako? Yeah they probably would have argued and thrown food at each other or something, but...

 

Daisuke was so happy everyone had made it. It wasn't often that he saw the older Chosen Children, Taichi, Yamato, and occasionally Sora, or Iori for that matter, since he went to another school. He, to be honest, wasn't sure if Mimi was going to show. He wasn't sure if she was grouchy from jet lag or if she slept while on the plane. Either way, he knew that she at the moment was pretty much herself.  
  
It didn't take long, after they ordered. Everyone began reminiscing about the old days. Iori brought up when they had to travel around trying to put the digimon back into the Digital World. It almost sounded like the older members were trying to one up each other.  
  
"I think Daisuke and I saw one of the craziest things. We saw a Cherrymon attack the giant Christmas tree. A tree attacking a tree, it was one of the most awkward things I ever saw," Mimi chimed with a laugh.  
  
Miyako, who had been staring a hole through Ken, turned to Mimi, "I have something better," she lightly nudged Sora who was sitting next to her, "Once me and Sora were in Russia, our guide didn't show until _after_ our battle. We had to use food names to communicate with them." The table was in an uproar of laughter, though they had all probably had heard these stories a dozen times, almost every time a new detail would arise. He knew that when he visited America and the tree was attacked that things would get ugly soon, Christmas, to the Americans was like this insane holiday, which Daisuke didn't really understand how they celebrated it, and to have a weird looking monster attack. He couldn't help at laugh at the thought.  
  
"Well, that's better than having the Chinese military rising up against you, right Hikari-san?" Koushiro looking down the table at the brunette.  
  
She smiled, "Yeah, that was pretty intense," her eyes gazed over at Takeru, then to Daisuke, "but I had three nice, cute, Chinese boys ask me out on a date afterwards."  
  
Taichi looked over at his sister, "If you were a skank I would have assumed you took them up on it," he said snickering, earning a slap on the shoulder from a laughing Yamato. Daisuke could help, but laughed when Jyou almost choked on his water he was currently drinking at that moment.  
  
The younger Yagami's jaw dropped and her head snapped towards her brother, "Taichi!" she yelled, "I am not a skank!"  
  
"I didn't say you were. I said _if_ you were. Jeez, Hikari, listen to what I say," he replied, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Girls! Girls!" Sora finally spoke up, "Calm down."  
  
Yamato laughed, "Well, all I can say about the crazy things that happened while we were trying to send the digimon back was when that Mexican officer put his loaded gun, right to Ken's nose. Scared the hell out of me. I thought he was actually going to shoot."  
  
Daisuke turned to Ken, he felt as if his heart was going to stop. That was something he didn't know about. Ken had never mentioned that part of the story, only that when they were in Mexico they met a little girl and Wormmon was jealous over her. He guessed that that was one thing Ken just didn't want to talk about.

 

Ken groaned at the memory of the gun to his face, putting his forehead in his hand and shaking it. He looked all the way down the table at Yamato after that and laughed. "Yeah, that was pretty terrifying. I thought he was going to shoot me in the face too! It's a good thing I knew enough Spanish to talk to him or he very well may have done it..."  
  
Ken felt a bit awkward as everyone stared at him with wide eyes. Apparently no one had heard about that story... not even Daisuke, who looked paler than normal. Had he really never told his best friend about that incident? He supposed he hadn’t, now that he thought about it. To be honest he'd just assumed that Yamato had told them.  
  
"Uh..." Ken laughed nervously, "Apparently you never told anyone about it Yamato."  
  
"I dunno, I just kind of forgot about it by the time I could have," The older blonde shrugged his shoulders and arms. "We were so desperate to fix everything then that it slipped my mind, and then later it didn't occur to me to tell anyone."  
  
"Yeah, same here." Ken laughed and looked the other way at Daisuke, giving an apologetic smile to his friend. He was just about to whisper a soft apology to the other boy when his right arm was grabbed by Miyako, and he turned around to face her.  
  
"Oh my god you almost got shot?!" Miyako gasped and gave him a hug, one that felt very awkward to Ken, "That's so scary! I'm glad you weren't hurt!"  
  
"Uh... yeah." Ken gently pulled himself away from the girl and tried not to look as uncomfortable as he felt. He looked back over at Daisuke, hoping that his friend wasn't the type to get jealous over a girl being... embarrassingly affectionate towards him. Then again, what right did Ken have to think something like that? He'd been a bit jealous before...  
  
"Well I'd say that Yamato and Ken win that debate," Iori laughed as their food was brought to the table finally, many plates being set down by the waitress. Ken had ordered a stir fry dish with assorted seafood, vegetables and pasta. It also came with a bread roll, and a glass of ice water. As they ate Ken started to feel a bit better about being in such a large group, and felt happier overall. He wasn't very hungry though, so he didn't think he'd be able to eat all of his food.

 

As Yamato and Ken talked about their encounter in Mexico, he couldn't help but wonder how something like that could just slip their mind. Daisuke could help, but feel a little overwhelmed just now hearing about it, even though it happened some time ago. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Miyako latched onto his friend, obviously making him uncomfortable. He wanted to say something to her, but didn't. He couldn't help, but feel jealous that Miyako could get away with acting like that in public with Ken. He began to wish he had sat between Miyako and Ken.  
  
The redhead could feel a hard stare on him, he glanced to see Takeru's eyes on him with a smirk on his lips. The younger blonde just shook his head after a minute or so and turned his attention to the waitress holding a large tray with piping hot food on it.

 

The waitress sat his food in front of him, all the tension Daisuke had building up, melted away. He looked over and saw what Ken had gotten and looked at his own. It was apparent that Ken cared a lot about what he put in his body, which also explained his nasty sodas. Daisuke on the other hand couldn't help, but just eat and drink what he wanted to which is why he had gotten probably one of the most fattening things on the menu.

 

            "Oh man, I'm so getting a drink!" Taichi announced and picked up the alcohol menu, Koushiro nudging him in the side.  
  
"That's really bad for you..." Koushiro sighing and shaking his head, "Not that I expect what I say is going to change your mind, but I don't know why you'd want to get one."  
  
"Because it's fun," Yamato grinned and looked at the menu with his friend.  
  
"Oh great..." Mimi sighed as her food was set down in front of her. "We're going to have two bumbling morons at our table in about 30 minutes, I can see it now."  
  
"I'm not going to get enough to get drunk." Taichi rolled his eyes. "Just enough to, ya know, get a little tipsy."  
  
"Don't bother trying to change his mind," Hikari sighed, "Trust me, it doesn't work."

 

When Taichi and Yamato began talking of drinks, earning a few protests from the others, Daisuke's eyes grew wide. Though he knew the others being against him drinking, especially Ken and the fact he was under the legal drinking age, but he figured there would be no harm done since he was amongst friends.  
  
Daisuke saw from the corner of his eye Ken was looking at him, but eventually turned his attention to Jyou who had begun asking him what his college plans were. A thought had occurred to Daisuke, maybe after Taichi and Yamato had a few in them, he would try and see if they would actually give him some of their drinks. ‘ _I wonder what Ken would be like if he were drunk_ ,’ he thought with a grin.  
  
Through the course of their meal, Daisuke participated in idle chatter amongst the group. Taichi and Yamato both had several strong drinks that left their faces flushed and them laughing about anything and sometimes, nothing. Jyou, surprising everyone, ordered him a drink as well, but unlike the giggling idiots beside him slamming drinks, he sipped at his, claiming he only drank moderately and socially, never enough to where he would regret it.

 

Mimi, Sora, and Hikari excused themselves to the restroom to powder their noses, or whatever girls in groups did in the bathroom, and Taichi and Yamato excused themselves back to the bar, where this time, Daisuke followed.

When Taichi and Yamato got up to go hang out at the bar, Ken chuckled a bit and shook his head. Those two... they were going to be completely smashed by the end of the night, he could tell already. He just hoped they didn't do something like puke in the car on the way home. Someone else was going to have to drive Yamato's car that was for sure. It would probably be Jyou who took over the driving job, since he wasn't drinking enough to be intoxicated and he was probably the most responsible of all of them. Well, Iori was a close second place but he sure wasn't old enough to drive yet.

"Oh. My. Gawd!" Taichi said as he sat down on a stool turning to see that younger redhead, "What are you doing here Dae..Daisuke?"

"Lemme guess," Yamato said, holding up his index finger as to make a point, "You wanna have fun?"  
  
Daisuke pursed his lips. He hated the fact that they were making him sound like a twelve year-old. Taichi laughed, "We will deny ANYTHING... no, EVERYTHING if you blame us," the brunette stopped and thought for a second to make sure what he said made sense.

 

It was then that Ken noticed Daisuke wasn't in his seat anymore, and he hadn't noticed him leave. Had he gone to the bathroom or something? Considering the kind of food his friend ate, it wouldn't surprise him if he wasn't feeling so good right now... gosh, how could he stand that stuff? It pretty much dripped with grease and had barely any nutritional value at all.  
  
The Child of Kindness sighed and looked over at Takeru, who was giving him a strange look. He seemed to be thinking about something, though Ken really had no idea what it could be.  
  
"Something wrong Takeru-san?" Ken asked politely, hoping to figure out what the blonde had been pondering about for the past couple of weeks now. He kept giving him and Daisuke these strange looks ever since their fight in the hallway, and...  
  
"No, nothing's wrong." Takeru shook his head and seemed to snap out of whatever he'd been thinking about.  
  
"A-Ah... I see." Ken blushed a bit and looked away, starting to figure out what the other boy might have going on through his mind... oh god, had he heard what he'd yelled at Daisuke? Did he know they were... well they weren't together, but something was definitely 'going on' between them. Ken wanted to ask, but at the same time he really didn't want to know. He especially didn't want to call him out around all of the others and have the other boy possibly answer him. "Well that's good," Ken gave a smile and looked away, refusing to see what expression was on his face now.  
  
Ken tried to think of something else as he looked down at his food, eating it slowly, the blush on his cheeks still there from what he could tell.  
  
Ken wasn't sure how much time had passed, because he'd spaced out a bit. And seriously where the heck was Daisuke? He'd left a while ago, right after Taichi and Yamato had gotten up—  
  
Ken felt his body stiffen and his eyes widen, realizing where his friend had surely gone. _Oh that stupid…!_ Ken quickly excused himself from the table, claiming to need to use the restroom, and quickly made his way over to the bar on the other side of the restaurant.

Taichi and Yamato moved off to the side of the bar where it would be less noticeable that they were had actually given the redhead drinks. Being drunk themselves, this was entertainment for them. The first shot Daisuke had done was strong. He had no idea what it was, but it was bitter and burned his throat on the way down, sending shudders through his body.  
  
It didn't take long before Daisuke was feeling good, real good actually. He felt his cheeks flush and his knees grow wobbly. Taichi began telling stories about college, some funny, some not, but Daisuke would giggle anyway. He would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy this feeling. "Hey, guys," Daisuke asked having a sudden thought, gaining the attention of the other two, "How are we gonna get home?"  
  
Yamato thought for a moment, "I... don't know," he laughed, "There's no way I'm driving."  
  
Taichi, too, began to laugh, "Oh my gawd, Yaman..ato, we may have to sleep here tonight. Think they would let us?" he said, half joking.  
  
"No… they’d make us sleep on the sidewalk," the blonde replied.  
  
"Dude... dude... that reminds me of this one time when I got hammered and woke up in the school gym..." Taichi said with a laugh.  
  
"I remember you telling me about that," Yamato giving Daisuke the rest of his drink before turning back to Taichi's story.  
  
Daisuke's eyes widened as he was offered the beverage and gladly accepted it. He didn't want to be rude by any means. Just as he began drinking the drink, his eyes focused on the doorway where Ken stood.

 

Ken couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was already rude enough that Yamato and Taichi were getting smashed at a reunion gathering, something that only happened once a year and they were wasting that chance, but on top of that, they had gone and pulled Daisuke into it as well! The redhead wasn't even legally old enough to be drinking, and chances were their drunkenness had caused them to not care about that fact. They could go to jail for that if they were caught! What had they been thinking?! Well... the answer to that was apparent enough. Worse than all of that though, what if Daisuke discovered a new "thrill" out of this experience?  
  
Ken stormed over to the three of them and pulled Daisuke out of the bar chair. "I don't believe you two!" Ken hissed at the older Chosen, loud enough for them to hear, but not loud enough for anyone else in the bar. "You're totally humiliating yourself at an event we only do once a year, and dragging Daisuke into it too!"  
  
"H-Hey, whatsurdeal?" Taichi slurred, trying to focus on the angry boy in front of him.  
  
"We were... jus' hav'n some... fun!" Yamato managed to get out, taking another drink from his alcoholic beverage.  
  
"Some fun?!" Ken hissed again, the disbelief strong in his voice, "You can get arrested for doing this, is that going to be fun for you then?"  
  
"He came to _us_!" Taichi defended himself, sounding quite ridiculous. "We didn't, just, like... ya know... something..."  
  
"Yeah!" Yamato cracked up, and Taichi began laughing too.  
  
"Come on," Ken pulled on his friend's arm and tried to lead him out of the bar, "We need to get you out of here before someone reports-"  
  
"Ken?" Takeru's voice floated over to him, and the slender boy froze. "What's going on? I could hear Taichi from the dining room, Daisuke like, vanished and then you ran off looking upset."  
  
"Ugh, it's nothing." Ken sighed and started pulling his friend towards the exit again.

 

The look in Ken's eyes almost startled Daisuke. He was only trying to have fun. Before he could defend what the others had done, he was being dragged out of the bar area by his friend. Taichi and Yamato could be heard making slurred comments and laughing as they left. As the made their way to the door, they met up with Takeru. The younger blonde began to question Daisuke's curious behavior which he wasn't taking too kindly too. At the moment his head was swimming, though he had not drunk as much as the other two, he also didn't drink as often as them.  
  
The cinnamon haired boy leaned against Ken. He knew that his friend wasn't too happy with him at the moment, but he was finding it difficult to keep his balance. The blonde eyed Daisuke with a hint of disbelief, "Uh, Daisuke, have you been drinking?"  
  
Daisuke cut Ken off before he had a chance to speak, "Why d'you care? I'm fine. I got dis."  
  
Takeru's eyes looked over at Ken and then back to Daisuke, "You look like you can barely stand," he replied.  
  
"Oh, yeah?" Daisuke nudged his body forward, "Well, you can jus eat meh, 'cause I gots my knight in shimanin'.. sher.. shinnin' armor with meh," he managed to get out.  
  
Takeru looked at Ken and could tell that the smaller boy's patience was wearing thin, as well as the hurt in his eyes. He could read it on his face plain as day. He also couldn't blame Ken for being angry. The group only got together once a year, Mimi flies all the way from New York, and instead of spending time with everybody, they get drunk, his brother included. Takeru knew Taichi and Yamato got drunk when they hung out so why they chose that day of all days to drink was beyond him and giving someone underage alcohol in public was unbelievable. He knew later he was going to definitely say something to him.  
  
"Listen, Ken, I'll take him off your hands for a minute, give him some fresh air. You look like you could use a break from him. We don't need you to strangle him," he said, laughing wryly.  
  
Takeru grabbed a hold of the cinnamon haired boy's tanned wrist and began to usher him outside, "Gah, Takeru, why you gotta push meh?"  
  
Once outside, the blonde sat Daisuke down on the steps along the side of the building. Daisuke couldn't help but feel tired. The sun's rays were shining in his eyes enough to where he would have to use his arm to shield them. Takeru leaned against the building shaking his head at the way Daisuke had been acting. He had noticed it for a while, but never actually said anything, but as he looked at Daisuke, he would see the healing scab on his face from a few weeks ago, as well as the bad scrapes on his arms. He knew that within the past month or two he had been getting injuries more and more frequently and often wanted to call attention to it, but when anymore did ever ask he would get very defensive.  
  
However, at the moment, this was not the problem at hand. Takeru figured while he had him outside and away from Ken, he would try to talk to him about something he had been meaning to, "You are hurting him. You know that?"  
  
Daisuke looked to his side at the blonde, "Hurtin' who?"  
  
"You know exactly who I am talking about, Daisuke. You know he loves you and cares deeply for you," he said with a sigh, "and you just take that for granted."  
  
"Es'use meh? Who de _hell_ asked you?!" Daisuke retorted, coming to his feet. He could feel anger building inside him. How dare Takeru say something like that! He knew nothing about what he and Ken and how things were between them.  
  
"I'm not an idiot Daisuke! You just keep finding ways take Ken’s friendship for granted because you only think of yourself!" Takeru shouted, not meaning to be so loud, so he moved a little closer, which was probably one of the biggest mistakes he could have made.  
  
"Fuck you!" Daisuke shouted lunging forward at Takeru, knocking him to the ground, his fist flying. Daisuke's rage, on top of the fact he was intoxicated, nearly blinded him. All he knew was he was swinging and hitting, and couldn't stop. He felt a blow to his jaw that sent him off to the side. Takeru did not want to fight, but as he got up to walk away, Daisuke came at him again.  
  
This didn't last much longer, before Ken had grabbed the redhead from under the arms, pulling him, but not before Takeru got in one last blow to Daisuke's jaw, where he then got pulled back by Jyou.

Right when Ken heard his best friend's voice becoming hostile outside, he knew that something hadn't gone well with Takeru's attempt to calm Daisuke down. He quickly rushed back outside just in time to hear the blonde try and confront Daisuke with his behavior recently.  
  
However, Ken realized that doing so while Daisuke was drunk was clearly not the correct course of action, for the next thing the slender boy became aware of was his best friend punching the blonde over and over again. Ken ran as fast as he could over to his friend and grabbed him from under the arms, pulling him away from the other boy as hard as he could. Daisuke was definitely stronger than Ken was, but in his drunken stupor, he didn't really have the strength in his wobbly legs to fight back.  
  
Suddenly Daisuke's head snapped back as Takeru got the last punch on him, the back of his head slamming into Ken's right eye painfully. The slender boy gasped but didn't let go as Jyou managed to pull the blonde away from Daisuke. Ken felt relief flow through his veins, thankful to any Gods that might have been watching for having Jyou show up right then.  
  
"Takeru!" Jyou hollered at the smaller boy as he forced him to sit down on the bench nearby. "What's going on?!"  
  
"Nothing..." Takeru wiped blood away from his nose, glaring at the redhead. His eyes glanced at Ken for a second, and a sad look flashed across his face for just a moment. "It's nothing Jyou."  
  
Ken realized that Takeru didn't want to say why he was upset at Daisuke because he didn't know if Ken was okay with Jyou knowing about Daisuke yet. To be honest, he didn't know if he was ready yet either. Jyou sighed and looked at Ken who shrugged, also nothing knowing what to say.  
  
"The others asked me to go check up on all of you and I find you guys punching each other, one of you clearly drunk, and underage at that, and you tell me it's nothing?"  
  
"I'll tell you in a little bit Jyou..." Ken trailed off, knowing that Takeru didn't know how much he should say. "Just... let me handle this first." Daisuke seemed to have calmed down, seeing as he wasn't struggling against him anymore. So he led him over to a different bench and sat down next to him, looking the other boy over. The large cut on his lower jaw from before had been re-opened from one, or possibly both, of Takeru's blows to the face. Other than that he was fine, with the exception of being intoxicated of course.  
  
Jyou came over and knelt down in front of Ken, looking at his right eye. "Hmm..." the older boy trailed off. "I think your eye is fine, it just looks a lot worse than it actually is."

 

Daisuke's head felt as if it were going to explode. Ken had managed to get him to calm down and seated at a nearby bench. The cinnamon haired teen turned to Ken to see a nice bruise forming around his eye. He didn't say anything, just shook his head. Jyou joined them and began looking at Ken's eyes. Daisuke looked over at the blonde he had just fought with. It seemed strange that even though he fought Takeru, he felt like he didn't deserve it.  
  
The look on his face wasn't one of anger towards the redhead, but sorrow. He couldn't really describe how he felt about the whole situation. He was still upset with the blonde, but somehow knew he was right. Daisuke didn't know why he drank or started fighting with Takeru, it was this impulse that drove him to it.  
  
Jyou looked over at Takeru, then Daisuke, and began asking why this had happened. He wasn't sure what to say, if he should say anything at all. It was understandable why he would ask questions, because of what he had walked in on, but somehow Daisuke wasn't sure if he was ready for anyone else to know. He shouldn’t have been surprised Takeru had known something was up. Also, he didn't tell the others, or judge him for it.  
  
It was then that Daisuke felt something within him. His stomach was gurgling and suddenly tightened up. _‘Oh, god...’_  
  
Daisuke jumped to his feet and ran as fast as he could to the trash can, letting it all go. He felt like he was going to pass out afterwards, everything was spinning. A sudden pain overwhelmed the redhead. He groaned as his hands clutched his head.

 

Jyou was cut off when the redhead suddenly jumped to his feet and began throwing up in the garbage can nearby, clutching his head afterward and moaning from what appeared to be a headache.  
  
"Jyou, can you please go get the leftover pasta from my plate, and a full glass of ice water?" Ken sighed, helping his friend back onto the bench. Jyou nodded, seeming to understand immediately why Ken wanted those things. He headed off into the restaurant again, Takeru walking over to their bench and sitting down on Ken's other side.

 

By the time he made it back to the bench Jyou was gone and Takeru made his way over to them. "Listen, Ken, I'm sorry I…" the blonde looked over at Daisuke, "I know my timing was bad, but I couldn't help but say something." Takeru said and began to walk away, wiping the remaining blood that had begun to dry under his nose.  
  
As Jyou returned he handed Takeru a wet towel for his nose as he made his way back inside. The bluenette returned to the duo on the bench, carrying the things he was sent to get, "Oh, my god my head hurts," Daisuke complained trying to regain his senses, "Did anyone ask questions when you went in?" he asked, before taking a drink out of the water Jyou handed him.  
  
"Not really. Hikari and Miyako seemed a little suspicious, but I told them you weren't feeling well. I figured the less they knew the better. Now, mind explaining to me what's going on?"

Ken took the plate of his remaining dinner and handed it to Daisuke, indicating that he should eat it. When the redhead gave him a look of confusion, Ken sighed and realized that his friend probably had no idea what he was doing that for. On top of that he was drunk, so the likelihood of him knowing much of anything was slim.  
  
"It helps sober up." Ken explained, picking up the fork and forcing his friend to eat the food on it. "The pasta will absorb any alcohol still in your stomach before it reaches your blood stream. At the very least it should prevent you from getting any _more drunk_ than you already are. Also, your headache is from being dehydrated and you'll surely wake up with a bad hangover if you don't drink a lot of water. You'll be fine if you do though, and it will also help get the alcohol out of your system when you use the bathroom, and helps overall water down the alcohol in your body."  
  
Daisuke looked thoughtful, in a strangely fuzzy way. It was as though he understood but at the same time was too drunk to really grasp it. Oh well, if he ate the food and drank all of the water he should be doing at least better enough to hold an actual conversation within the next 10 minutes. It would still take time and a good amount of rest to fully sober up, but this would speed up the process.  
  
It was then that Ken realized Jyou was still waiting for him to explain, so he turned to the fellow blue haired boy and sighed. "Sorry Jyou... I didn't really want to tell anyone yet, but I guess you deserve to know something."  
  
Ken tried to find the words to use. How could he tell Jyou what had just happened without giving too many details? Maybe he'd just be really vague or something... "I didn't see everything that happened," Ken began, "But what I do know is that Taichi and Yamato let Daisuke drink a bunch and he got drunk. Then Takeru was trying to talk to Daisuke about some serious topics that he's already touchy enough about when he's sober... so it ended up starting a fight between them. Takeru was just trying to help, he meant well, his timing was just... bad."  
  
"How serious is this topic?" Jyou asked, a concerned look on his face. "I mean, we all have personal problems sure, and it's obviously something between the three of you. But is it something that could really hurt someone?"  
  
"I..." Ken frowned, not sure how to answer. "I don't know yet."

 

Daisuke stared down at the plate Ken held in front of him. What could Ken be thinking? Daisuke just got done throwing his guts up and Ken's wanting to eat more? It must have been the look on Daisuke's face that made Ken explain what he was doing. Daisuke took another drink out of the water before giving in and eating once more. Though it was fun at first, Daisuke was beginning to wish he wasn't drunk anymore. He hated throwing up, especially in public.  
  
Ken began trying to give a vague summary of what had happened that Jyou would accept. His eyes kept wandering over to the intoxicated teen with worried eyes. He knew that there had to be more than what Ken was telling him, but let it at what it was because Ken said he wasn't ready to let anyone else know the entire story.  
  
The intoxicated Daisuke wanted to get it out in the open, but then before he said anything he had a foggy thought. What could he say? He and Ken weren't 'together' or anything and he still hadn't even told his parents. Well, being in his current state, telling them seemed as if it would come easier, but that is a bridge that he would cross once he came to it.

 

"Oh my god!" Sora's voice cut through their conversation as she came outside. "Daisuke too?! I already made Taichi and Yamato sit in the car before they embarrass us MORE, and Takeru too because he looks like he got in a fight or something! Now Daisuke's hurt? What happened?!"  
  
"Daisuke's fine," Ken assured the girl, "He just needs a minute."  
  
"I'll take them all home." Jyou stood up quickly, and lowered his voice so only they could hear. "Daisuke got in a fight with Takeru because Taichi and Yamato let him drink, and they need to leave before someone gets in serious trouble. Daisuke has to go too before someone sees us with an underage drunk, and Takeru needs to clean himself up. Just tell everyone else that Takeru fell and hurt himself, and that Daisuke threw up so I'm taking them home too. It's all true anyway, just... not the entire truth."  
  
"Alright," Sora sighed. "I'm so mad at those two... seriously, Yamato and Taichi are going to re-plan this get together by themselves!"  
  
"I'll go too!" Ken helped Daisuke stand up once he'd finished all of the water. "Just tell them I want to make sure Daisuke isn't coming down with the flu or something."  
  
"Alright." Sora nodded. Ken followed Daisuke around the back towards the parking lot, Daisuke at his side.

 

Before he knew it, Sora had come outside to check on them. She was obviously upset with how the reunion she spent a lot of time planning had been ruined. Daisuke at this point was almost starting to feel sick again, but managed to keep it back.  
  
Jyou and Ken both knew that it would be best if the intoxicated trio were taken home. They managed to ruin the party, might as well let the others try to have some fun besides being concerned about them. As they made their way to the car Daisuke stopped in front of Sora, "I'm sorry I got drunk," he said to the girl, his voice still slurred, just not as bad.  
  
She sighed placing her hand on her forehead, "Daisuke, just go home and sober up. Next time we'll just have to keep an eye on you three." With that she went back inside to deliver the message to the others.  
  
When they reached the car, Taichi and Yamato were already passed out in the backseat. Takeru pushed the two drunken bodies over as far as he could so he could get into the back seat and Ken and Daisuke in the front. It was strange how sleepy he started to feel after he ate those noodles.

 

Ken tried to squeeze into the front seat with Daisuke, wrapping the seat belt around them both. He felt a hot blush creep up his cheeks, and tried his best to stare out the window so no one would notice. He was halfway sitting in the other boy's lap, and he really didn't know how to react. Well no, he knew perfectly well how he needed to act. It was just a matter of keeping enough control over himself to actually act normal without turning red. Unfortunately for him though, he'd already failed on that part. He honestly had no idea if Daisuke was aware of their... position or not, and didn't dare look at the other boy's face to find out.  
  
The drive towards Taichi's house, as he was the closest to the restaurant, felt so much longer than it surely was. Ken figured it was probably just him that felt that way, as Daisuke was most likely too drunk to even have the same feelings going on in his head as him. Then again, he definitely seemed more sober now than a little bit ago, and quite a bit sleepier. That was a good sign, it meant his body was slowing down from the alcohol high.  
  
"We're here," Jyou called into the backseat, and Takeru helped to shove them awake. "Maybe Yamato should just crash with Taichi so he can sleep sooner." Jyou pondered.

  
"Thanks, but I'll call dad." Takeru sighed from the backseat as he pulled out his cell phone. "He'll take finding out that Yamato is drunk off his ass better if he hears it from me."  
  
Ken felt his heart sink into his stomach. Daisuke's parents... oh shit. How would they react to finding out their underage son had gotten smashed at a party with his friends? What if they stopped trusting Ken after that and didn't let them hang out anymore? What if they called his mom and...  
  
Okay, calm down. Ken took some deep breaths, trying not to overreact. Well, at any rate, now that Taichi and Yamato were being lead into the apartment by Takeru, the backseat was empty. That meant he could get off of his best friend's lap now before his face was permanently colored sharpie red.  
  
Ken moved the two of them into the backseat, Daisuke sitting directly behind the now empty passenger seat, and Ken in the middle. Eventually Takeru climbed back into the car behind the driver once he'd finished his phone call, and Ken felt eyes on him. He turned to his left to look at Takeru, and was met with a smirk. Ken blushed and looked away, realizing that the blonde had totally noticed him feeling embarrassed about sitting on Daisuke for the ride here... ugh.  
  
"S-So Daisuke," Ken cleared his throat, "do you think your dad will be really angry? Because if he'll take it really bad you could always..." Ken trailed off, refusing to look at the blonde sitting in the backseat next to him. "Y-You could... stay at my house tonight. I can tell your dad you got sick from some bad sea food or something."  
  
Do not look at Takeru. _Do not look at Takeru._

 

Daisuke shook his head, trying to remain somewhat coherent. He looked over at Ken and thought about what he'd said. He wasn't entirely sure about how he's parents would react. He had never come in drunk before. His head was still pounding, but his vision wasn't as fuzzy anymore. The redhead rubbed his eyes trying to think, "Um, I dunno. They may not be home just yet."  
  
Daisuke was surprised that his speech had cleared up and he wasn't slurring as much. All he could really think about was how his head was hurting, but also what Takeru had said to him. Yes, he was drunk when the conversation took place, but he remembered every word of it. Was he really that bad of a person? It must be true. He and Ken had a similar conversation before... but the way Takeru said it, it just struck him differently.  
  
He wanted to ask Ken, but not with Jyou or Takeru around. He wouldn't mind staying with Ken, but didn't want to risk being heard by his father. Though Daisuke was sobering up, he still wasn't sure he trusted himself to be quiet, he was still drunk after all.  
  
"No," he said, finally, with a long sigh, "I think I should go home. Besides, Jun comes in drunk every so often, so why should it matter if I do."  
  
The cinnamon haired teen couldn't bring himself to look at Ken or Takeru at the moment, he kept his eyes on the back of the passenger seat. "It's not like it's your fault Ken, you didn't put a gun to my head and make me drink and you're also not my babysitter, so I see no reason why they would look badly at you. Taichi and Yamato on the other hand..." he chuckled softly.  
  
Jyou looked back at the rambling redhead in the rear view mirror, "Well, you need to get some sleep, Daisuke. You got pretty hammered."  
  
Daisuke nodded, not really knowing if Jyou had seen it or not, "I have something I need to do before sleeping. I want Ken there." Daisuke's chocolate eyes looked over at his Jogress partner, and gave a crooked smile.  
  
When they pulled into Daisuke's apartment complex's parking lot, he slowly got out of the car, trying to watch his footing as Ken led him to his apartment. After he turned and thanked Jyou for the ride, and saw that Takeru had the biggest smirk on his face while shaking his head. The redhead had nothing else to say to him and just kept walking.  
  
"If you want, Jun can take you home or you can stay the night. Your choice."

 

"I'll stay with you." Ken said immediately, not wanting to leave his friend alone. What if Daisuke threw up again and needed help? Or if he had a really nasty hangover in the morning and needed more water, would his friend remember to drink any? Maybe he was being overprotective of the other boy but... no, he couldn't just leave him like that.  
  
There was another thing bothering Ken a lot, and that was the fear that Daisuke would enjoy drinking too much, and turn it into another thrill seek. He needed to bring it up with his friend and find out what Daisuke thought on that matter before he'd be able to get any sleep, and if his friend's parents weren't home, then maybe he'd get a chance. Being drunk, Daisuke may or may not be able to answer well, but there was certainly a higher chance that he'd be honest about it.  
  
Ken helped the other boy into his apartment and sat him down on the couch, walking over to the door and locking it behind him. No one was home yet, so that was good. After that Ken got up and got another glass of ice water and some pain killers, sitting down next to the other boy on the couch and giving them to Daisuke to take.  
  
"Here," Ken said and handed them to him. "This should help you not feel too bad tomorrow morning."  
  
Ken wanted to ask his friend about the drinking thing, but decided to wait and see if he'd sober up a bit more before trying. Maybe he'd just try in the morning when he was for sure in his right mind. Then again, his parents would probably be home by then... oh well, he'd figure it out as the night went.

 

            Daisuke took the pills that Ken handed him without thought and downed the glass of water along with them. He sat back on the couch, bringing his knees to his chest and took in a deep breath. The cinnamon haired teen glanced over at his friend, "I'm sorry I got drunk. I just don't know what came over me."  
  
He shifted his position and laid his head in Ken's lap. A small blush crept up on his face, but he hoped it would go unnoticed seeing how he wasn't completely sober. He wasn't sure why he did it but it was a relief that Ken didn't stop him. He wasn't really wanting to look at Ken and tried his best not to, but somehow his eyes kept wondering over to him, "Am I really... as bad as everyone seems to think?"  
  
This conversation seemed to be more difficult than he thought it would be. Granted, he was drunk and words came out better, but it still didn't make him anymore prepared for the answer he would get. He wanted Ken to know that he was serious and not just talking out of his ass, but looking at him would make it harder. Daisuke never really cared about what people thought before, but this was different, this was Ken. He did care about what he thought. And he knew that he was going to talk to his parents and Jun when they got back, but before he did that he was going to make sure he was ready to do so.

            Ken smiled down at his friend when he laid his head down on his lap. Daisuke's apology for getting drunk made Ken feel a little better, because at least his friend seemed to genuinely regret doing it. Maybe he wouldn't try to do it again after all. He sincerely hoped so anyway.  
  
Then Daisuke asked that question, and Ken felt a sad expression cross his face. "What?" He asked the other boy softly, not wanting to be too loud when he knew the other boy had a bit of a headache still. “‘ _As bad as everyone_ _thinks_ ’? No one thinks you're bad, Daisuke."  
  
Ken felt his heart sink and he didn't know what else to say. Had he said something to make his friend think that he didn't like his personality or something? He didn't think that at all, he just... well, it was because he cared about the other boy as much as he did that he got so upset when he did something dangerous.  
  
"Daisuke," Ken started up again, rubbing his fingers through the other boy's hair gently. "I don't know what makes you think that, but I really care for you. If I thought you were terrible then I wouldn't care when you did something dangerous, would I? I just really worry about you, that's all."

 

            The feeling of Ken's slender finger running through his hair sent chills through him. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling and trying to gather his thoughts. He cleared his throat and slightly turned his head to where he could see Ken in the corner of his eye, "What Takeru said... I don't know.. it’s just," he sighed trying to find the words to finish his statement, "That day we fought in the hallway, you said the only person who was ruining anything was me. Takeru said the same thing. He said I was hurting you and I only cared about myself. I messed up today and made quite a few people angry with me," Daisuke paused, hearing his voice begin to break up.  
  
He felt guilty for all the things he had done and didn't know how he could fix it. He didn't want Ken angry with him and he knew he was good at doing it. "I know you care about me, but I shouldn't do the things I have been doing. I do these things, but after the rush is over all I do is feel guilty about it. And yet... I keep doing it. I am a selfish person, which I do know you were right about. Even if it hurts my pride to admit it, I do know it's true."  
  
Daisuke sat up and looked over at the clock seeing that his parents should be home soon. He felt nervousness wash over him. His gaze case over to Ken. He didn't want to upset him by what he said and make him feel like the bad guy, but he figured he would talk to him about this before speaking with his parents. He had made up his mind to do this for him and for his parents, he figured it wasn't right for Ken to worry about telling his parents and Daisuke go free without doing it as well.  
  
"I know what happened that day is over with, but today when Takeru brought it up, it just struck a nerve in me," he said, "I just want you to know that I am sorry."  
  
Daisuke leaned back onto the couch, "I figured I would talk with my 'rents and Jun when they get home."

 

            Ken was quiet as his friend explained, listening as well as he could. He could tell Daisuke felt really bad about what had happened, both just now and a while ago. When the other boy had finished Ken sighed and hung his head a bit, staring down at his hands. Yes, there were times when Ken felt extremely frustrated with the other boy, but he also completely understood Daisuke's pain. He was trying as hard as he could to get through leaving Wormmon behind too, and wasn't having an easy time of it himself either. How could he convince the other boy that he didn't hate him or think he was bad, or whatever it was that he was thinking? Somehow his words just weren't enough.  
  
Ken sat up and leaned in, placing a soft kiss on the other boy's lips. It wasn't anything sexual, just a way to try and show the other boy that he could never think he was a bad person. Immediately he felt a blush form on his cheeks, embarrassed at having done such a thing, but he just didn't know another way to convince him.  
  
After a moment he pulled away. "I really don't know how else to convince you that I don't think you're a terrible person... why would I have these feelings for you if I felt that way, Daisuke? I understand that it's hard for you right now, and I just want to help you. If you're so worried about what everyone thinks then maybe you can help Taichi and Yamato re-plan the get together to make up for tonight?"

 

            When Ken kissed him Daisuke's cheeks heated up. He felt his body relax from the nervousness that had washed over him. Before he could kiss back Ken pulled away and spoke again. He knew that his friend was trying to make him feel better, but in the back of his mind that small insecurity resided.  
  
"But I don't care what Takeru thought, but him confirming what you had said before, on top of the fact I helped ruin the reunion that Sora put together... plus, I'm still a bit drunk. I don't know what I am thinking at the moment," Daisuke got up, "Guess I should clean myself up before they get back," he said before walking into the bathroom.  
  
It seemed to help Daisuke to be more alert when he splashed cold water on his face. He looked into the mirror and saw that it was noticeable that he had been in a fight. His cut from a few weeks ago had reopened, not as deep, but there was still dried blood going down his neck. After cleaning off his face, be returned to the living room where Ken was and handed him a cold moist washrag. "Here, for your eye. I'm sorry about that, by the way."

 

Ken could tell that there just wasn't anything he could say or do that would help his friend feel any better about the situation right now. It surely didn't help that Daisuke was drunk, so Ken settled with bringing this topic up later. Maybe after the redhead had gotten a good night's rest and wasn't buzzed on alcohol anymore, he could get it through to Daisuke that he didn't think he was a terrible person at all. How could he possibly think that? No, his best friend wasn't perfect and could frustrate him at times, but anyone could do that.  
  
Ken waited patiently as the other boy went to wash up in the bathroom. His friend didn't look too good after the fight, and his old injuries had opened up on top of the new ones that he'd acquired today. The redhead wasn't in there for too long though, and came back with a washcloth.  
  
A chuckle escaped the slender boy as Daisuke apologized for knocking his eye. It wasn't like Ken blamed him or something, he knew it had been a total accident. He supposed it wouldn't have happened had the other boy not gotten drunk, but that was more Taichi and Yamato's fault anyway.

 

It was then that Daisuke's heart stopped. He could hear his parents and Jun outside the apartment, ‘ _Oh god...’_

Ken had been ready to say his thoughts on that when he heard talking outside the apartment, and felt his body freeze up. Daisuke had mentioned wanting to talk to his family about them being... well, a bit more than friends with him when his family came home. He'd known that he'd probably still be there when that happened, but now that it was about to be time he felt a little sick to his stomach.  
  
"U-Um..." Ken stuttered a bit as the front door opened and the Motomiya family walked inside. He wasn't sure what he had been about to say, but his nerves had totally died now. He stared down at his fingers and picked at his nails, more nervous than he could recall being in a long time.  
  
"H-Hello." Ken finally managed to force himself to say, standing up and nodding politely at his friend's family. Oh god... just how drunk was Daisuke still? What would he end up telling his parents and Jun? He'd probably be even more blunt than normal...  
  
Ken swallowed hard, praying to any Gods that might have been listening that things wouldn't go as badly as he was dreading they would.

 

            Daisuke gulped hard when his family walked in the door, greeting the two as they carried a few grocery bags in their hands. Daisuke, still tipsy, slowly walked over and helped his mother before she fumbled with the items in her hand. "Hi Ken, It's good to see you," she said with a smile.  
  
Jun walked into the kitchen and put away the groceries. Daisuke took the bags that his mother had been holding and placed them on the counter before walking back into the living room. "Hey son," his father said as he passed him on his way out, "Whoa, what happened to your face?" he asked, shuffling the bags around before placing his dark hand on Daisuke's chin, turning his head to reveal the reopened cut along his jawline.  
  
The redhead backed out of his father's grasp and shook his head. Daisuke almost felt as if he were going to get sick from the nervousness that welled up in him. "Uh, I'll explain in a minute." He walked back into the living room and sat down next to Ken and waited until they finished putting up the few groceries. "Guys," he called into the kitchen, "b-b-before you go off... t-t-there is something I would like to talk to you about," he managed to get out. Daisuke chewed on his bottom lips, when his mother popped her head out of the kitchen, "Oh, ok. They are just finishing up in there." Daisuke's mother came out and sat on the love seat that was beside him, her eyes focused in on the swollen cut on her son's face, "Daisuke, love, what happened do you?" she asked, crossing her legs.  
  
Daisuke looked over at Ken for a moment before looking back at his mother, "I'll get to that when dad and Jun come in here." The butterflies in the cinnamon haired teen's stomach were going crazy, his hands became noticeably clammy, and his face was burning up. When his father and Jun entered the room his heart almost stopped. It was as if the buzz he was feeling had completely vanished, even it was still there.  
  
Mr. Motomiya sat on the love seat with his wife and Jun stood behind them, "Please make this quick Daisuke, I'm meeting a friend shortly," his sister said.  
  
"Look, Jun, your stupid friend's going to have to wait, this is kind of important, now would you sit down," he snapped, surprisingly not getting much of a reaction from his parents. Jun scoffed and sat down in the arm chair that was across from their parents.  
  
Daisuke sat up straight, "To answer your question, I got into a fight today at the reunion with Takeru. Ken pulled me away from him and that's why he has a bruise under his eye because my head hit him," Daisuke found that sitting still wasn't going to be easy, he kept crossing and uncrossing his legs and picking at his hands. His eyes were all over the room except where they needed to be.  
  
"Takeru?" Jun asked, "Yamato's brother? Why?"  
  
"Yes, and why we fought isn't really important," he sighed, "Guys, I know we aren't 'close', but I think the right thing to do would be to tell you... I-I-I'm g-gay," his eyes then looked over at his parents first, then Jun. There was a silence between them that lasted for a quite some time. His eyes wondered over to Ken, he decided not to say anything about him just yet until he knew what they were thinking. His mother's hand slowly crept up to her mouth in shock.  
  
"You're serious, Daisuke?" his father asked, breaking the silence.  
  
Daisuke chewed on his lip, nodding, "Yeah," his voice just loud enough to hear.  
  
"So, I'm guessing that my family's name won't be passed after all," he said shaking his head, sounding slightly disappointed.  
  
"I guess so... I'm sorry," Daisuke replied, his voice still just as soft.  
  
"I just don't know what to say. I'm not mad at you or anything, I just wasn't expecting this. I thought you were going to tell me something about school or you were quitting soccer," his father said, letting some of the nervousness that had built up wash away.  
  
"I agree with your father," Mrs. Motomiya said, resting her hand back down in her lap, “But, I thought you had a crush on that Yagami girl."  
  
Daisuke shook his head, "No, not anymore. That was a long time ago, I just... I don't know."  
  
He looked over at Jun who hadn't said anything yet, she looked spaced out her head resting on her fist, Daisuke's expression softened, "Jun?" he asked, cracking somewhat of a smile, hoping she wouldn't be the one who would hate him for what he said.  
  
"Hmm?" her attention coming back to Earth, "Oh, heh, I already knew. I'm not surprised one bit. In fact I was actually waiting on it," she laughed. Daisuke's face fell. Wait... what? She _expected_ it? What the hell?  
  
"What do you mean you expected it?" Mr. Motomiya asked.  
  
"Dad, I knew something was up about a year ago. Daisuke and Ken would act funny around each other. Sorry, didn't mean to put the spotlight on you, Ken, but it's true."  
  
Daisuke looked back over at his jogress partner with a small blush on his cheeks before looking back to his parents, "So... you guys don't... hate me?"  
  
That question made his mother jump from her seat, "Of course not! You're my son! I could never in my life hate you," She leaned down and gave him a hug. "You just surprised me, that's all," he heard his father say from behind her.  
  
It took all that Daisuke had in him to not cry. He was so worried that his parents would hate him and through him out, or Jun would hate him and never speak to him again. Daisuke smiled at him when his mother released him and sat back down, "So Ken," his mother looked over at the quiet teen, "were you just hear for moral support or are we missing something? I ask because in any movies I’ve seen the coming out person normally has their lover with them," she smiled, giving him a wink.  
  
"Oh, honey, don't question that boy about stuff like that. You know it's none of your business," he retorted with a chuckle.

 

            Ken had been completely unable to speak throughout the entire exchange. He'd kept his head down and his hands fiddled with each other in an attempt to not completely faint with fear. He really wished he had a stress ball at that moment, it would have been helpful that's for sure. Or at least some water maybe, because then he could possibly get the nausea in his stomach to-  
  
Oh god, he said it. He just... said it, just like that! He didn't even wait or lead up to it or... anything. Ken was somewhat jealous of his friend's ability to just spit stuff like that out in front of a bunch of people. It had taken every ounce of his strength just to tell his mom alone!  
  
Ken felt himself space out for a bit until Daisuke's mother spoke directly to him, and upon hearing her question, the slender boy felt an intense blush explode onto his face. Mr. Motomiya telling her that it wasn't her business did nothing to help in the slightest.  
  
"I-I-I... I'm... I mean it's just... we're not... but I guess we kind of... I mean... no, it's just..." Ken shook his head and tried again. "W-W-We're not like... officially... you know but... we... things kind of happened... no, nothing like that, it's just... nnng..."  
  
Ken put his face in his hands and groaned, deciding to just shut his mouth before he somehow said something dumber. If that was even possible at this point. "It's complicated," Ken finally settled with and looked back down at his hands, wishing he had some kind of supernatural teleporting ability that so he could be anywhere in the entire world except here right now.  
  
Hah, as if the lover went with to give moral support. If anything, after turning into a bumbling idiot, Daisuke was the one who was going to have to give HIM moral support, and he'd been the one coming out!  
  
"Excuse me while I get some water." Ken finally managed to compose himself enough to speak without stuttering, bowing as he made his way into the kitchen. Once the door had shut behind him he leaned against the wall and cursed inwardly for being such a... girl.

 

            Daisuke's heart sank when his mother started asking Ken questions. Man! She really knew how to make someone feel uncomfortable. Daisuke still felt himself blush when Ken talks to him about them being together or when he thinks about him himself, but someone just asking something like that, he could understand why Ken couldn't find his words. "Man, mom, why did you ask him that?"  
  
Daisuke's head dropped into his hands. Just as he stood to go after him, his mother caught his arm, "I was just curious. Because if you are going to be dating men, I would be happy for you if it were him. He's one of a kind," she said releasing his arm.  
  
"Yeah, Daisuke," Jun spoke up from the other side of the room, coming to her feet, "Now, I have to go. My friend's waiting on me."  
  
As Jun left, closing the door behind her, Daisuke's attention turned to his father. He knew there was some type of disappointment about him being gay and not passing the family name, but he hoped that would pass over time. His heart sank as his father sat solemnly and in deep thought. He hoped that this wouldn't change anything between them. He knew they were never really close, but also didn't want to drive them further away.  
  
"I'm glad you think so, Mom. I think so too," Daisuke smiled over at his mother, "I was just hoping I didn't disappoint you two, Jun too."  
  
Daisuke walked out of the room so his parents could talk amongst themselves and he could find Ken. He was so happy that they took it well, even his father. Though there was some doubt, he prayed to whoever listened that it would fade over time. Daisuke figured he probably didn't back out of it because he was still a little tipsy which made him more blunt than normal. That didn't stop the fact that he was nervous as hell. His hands were still clammy and his legs were still wobbly.  
  
As the redhead entered the kitchen Daisuke didn't immediately see Ken. In fact the slender teen startled him when he saw that he was against the wall, "Ken?" he asked as he entered the room, shutting the door behind him, "You ok? Sorry about what my mom said, I guess I can see where I get my bluntness."

 

            Ken turned to face his friend, chuckling a bit to himself. He'd noticed a while ago where the other boy got some of his traits from. His mom was nice, and he was glad that Daisuke took after her in the way that he did.  
  
"Yeah I'm alright." Ken walked over to the cabinet to get the water he'd announced that he was getting. It was refreshing and helped him feel better about the situation. Sure, he was still thoroughly embarrassed, but at least it was just him and Daisuke now. "I'm just..." Ken trailed off, trying to give his friend more of an answer. "I guess I don't know if I should stay the night or not. I mean, your parents surely suspect that something's going on between us with the way I was stuttering out there... would they find it inappropriate for me to sleep in your room now?"  
  
Ken frowned a bit when he looked at the clock in the kitchen. It was pretty late... if he tried to go home now he'd spent the entire trip in the dark, and he didn't really like doing that if he could avoid it. His dad could come get him if he asked, but he didn't know if they had gone to bed yet or not. He didn't want to wake them up or anything. He'd already sent his dad a text saying he was going to sleep over at Daisuke's place, so the fact that he would be suddenly coming home might make them ask questions... ones that he didn't want to answer.

 

            Daisuke thought about what Ken said. He made a good point, now that this was out in the open he couldn't really share a bed with him, what if his parents walked in? The whole matter being fresh for them would be off setting for them. Daisuke looked over at the clock on the wall, seeing how late it was. He could give Ken his bed and he could sleep on the floor or even out on the couch.  
  
"You can have my bed, I'm not too worried about it," he said, reassuringly.  
  
As they entered the bed room, Daisuke walked over to his dresser and pulled out two pairs of pajamas, seeing how Ken didn't bring any with him and tossed them over to the slender teen. Daisuke couldn't help, but smile. He was so happy at the moment. He was so glad Ken was there with him when he told his parents, even though he was surprised Ken actually admitted that there was something, not specifying to what extent, but indeed something there.  
  
"Thank you... for being here with me," the red head said with a smile, "If you want... I will be there with you when you tell your father. It's your choice."  
  
Without even thinking twice Daisuke leaned in and placed a small kiss on Ken's lips before heading to the bathroom, his cheeks glowing red, to change and get ready for bed.

 

            Ken blushed and smiled softly as his friend left the room to head into the bathroom. While the other boy was away, he thought about how he wanted to tell his father. Maybe he would have Daisuke be there with him, or maybe he would just tell his father on his own. It depended on the situation really, and he figured he'd just figure it out as he went.  
  
The slender boy put on the pajamas that had been given to him and sat on his friend's bed. He felt a bit bad having his best friend sleep on the floor or the couch while he stole his bed... but he knew better than to try and change Daisuke's mind. He was just stubborn like that, and most likely wouldn't allow Ken to sleep anywhere else.  
  
Ken's mind went back to his father and how he expected him to react. Nervousness filled Ken's stomach, and he tried to push it back. Part of him just had a bad feeling about it, like he knew that his dad was going to take it the worst of everyone. He wanted to be more optimistic than that, but... he knew his father, and he knew what the man put as priority. The rest of his father's family really pressured him about the family name, and therefore it would come around to Ken.  
  
Shaking his head, Ken decided not to think about it too much. It was time to go to sleep, and he could figure all of that other stuff out when it came up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this! Comment/Kudos are not required but always appreciated :)  
> As always, expect a new chapter each week. Also! Extra points for those who can guess the song the chapter titles (3 & 4) came from. No cheating!


	5. You thought WHAT?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of a short "extra" chapter, it doesn't really push the plot forward. However, it was fun to write!  
> Anyways, Jun and Daisuke spend some much needed sibling time together! ENJOY!

It had been almost a week since Daisuke had come out to his parents and sister. And to his surprise everything seemed to be pretty much normal. He knew that his mother was happy for him, as was Jun. However, his father, though he didn't act angry, he did act disappointed. It did hurt Daisuke to know that because of who he was, it dissatisfied his father. He knew that it was something that would probably never fully go away, but would fade over time and he could live with that.  
  
That week in school seemed to be pretty much average. To his surprise, Takeru had kept his word, not telling the others about why they fought. Miyako had become her usual nosy self when Ken had vanished and ended up leaving with an intoxicated Daisuke without saying goodbye to her. Oh my! How the world should stop turning because Ken didn't say goodbye! Hikari on the other hand didn't seem to be effected. Daisuke figured she would have known about the fight seeing how she'll stare a hole through Takeru on a daily basis, but even if she did know, she seemed to leave to subject alone.  
  
Daisuke felt bad about the fight though. He knew that Takeru was indeed right. His choice of words and his timing needed work, but nonetheless, he was right. Even though he had spoken to Ken, who disagreed with Daisuke's assumption about it, he figured that he would have to try harder at not giving in to those temptations. It was going to be difficult because though Daisuke needed to stop, he wasn't ready to. He had only just gotten a taste of that rush and liked it. He wasn't ready to give up just yet.  
  
The cinnamon haired teen, as of late, had been going to the roof of his complex and sitting on the edge, just staring downward at the long drop ahead, watching the cars and the people, or the bay. The view was amazing. There had also times where he thought about making another climb to the upper floors, but every night since his coming out, Jun would come in at random and hang out with him. He didn't mind, just he could never cease an opportunity.  
  
It was now Saturday and Daisuke had actually planned to make a trip over to Taichi's and try to talk to him about replanning their reunion. Daisuke had actually thought about telling him about himself, but wasn't exactly sure if he should, not yet anyways. He knew that it was because of Taichi, Yamato, and himself that the reunion was a disaster. He still cringed at the thought of ruining all of Sora’s hard work.  
  
As Daisuke finished getting dressed, pulling his shirt over his head, Jun burst through his door, "Daisuke!" she shouted, and laugh after she realized she had scared the shit out of her brother.  
  
"Damn Jun! I'm glad I wasn't naked!" he retorted with a sour face.  
  
The redheaded girl smirked, "Even if you were, it would be like looking at a 2 year-old boy."  
  
Daisuke rolled his eyes with a sigh, "What do you want?"  
  
His sister entered the room, "I need you to come with me. It's kind of important."  
  
"Jun, I kinda had plans today. I was going to go to Taichi's before he went to class," he replied, looking over at the clock seeing that by the time he would have gotten there would have left him with roughly two hours to see what they would have come up with.  
  
Jun's lip curled at the sound of Taichi’s name. She wasn't really too fond of the former soccer player as he used to snicker and joke about her behind her back when she had her infatuation with Yamato. Yes, she was over him now, but the thought would still anger her to this day. She knew she wore her heart on her sleeve and Yamato was a good example for that. She still never forgave them for driving off and leaving her on the side of the road that time they went camping, though at the time she blindly looked passed it because of her silly heart.  
  
She thought for a moment, "Tell you what, come with me and I'll take you over there tomorrow before I leave for work. Please Daisuke!" the redheaded girl begged.  
  
Daisuke sighed and shook his head with a smile spreading across his lips. His sister could annoy the complete shit out of him at times, but he never really spent time with her. Also, she didn't say anything to their parents after figuring out that he was gay.

 

"Sure," he finally said.  
  
Before he had known it his sister had practically carried him to her car, barely having time to completely put his shoes on. As they sped out of the complex's parking lot, Daisuke finished slipping his shoes on. It was then he remembered the reason he hardly let Jun take him anywhere, the girl had an iron foot and no road courtesy. Daisuke's stomach began to turn as he quickly put his seat belt on and latched on to what he called the "Oh Shit!" handle that was located on the passenger door as she swerved through two lanes, almost hitting what looked like a very expensive car.  
  
"Oh, my god! Jun slow down! Jeez, you almost hit them!" the redheaded teen yelled before he's eyes slammed shut, seeing his sister coming very close to a minivan.  
  
_‘This bitch is going to kill me!’_ Daisuke thought as he felt his stomach twist into knots.  
  
"Oh, calm down I'm not going _that_ fast," Jun retorted, swinging over into the right lane, earning a loud honk from the minivan.  
  
By the time they came to a halt, Daisuke felt as if his stomach was in his chest, his throat was sore from yelling, his hands were sore and clammy from being latched onto the door handle, and his heart was rattling his entire being. Daisuke threw his seat belt off and leaped from the car and wanted to kiss the ground. It had been some time since he and Jun had gone anywhere, and after this he understood why.  
  
"See?" she said almost in triumph, "You're alive."  
  
"Yeah... you are supposed to do that... Just—Wait, why are we at the mall?" Daisuke closed the door and began to walk towards the building, following Jun, not really expecting an answer from his sister. When she didn't reply and led the way into the building Daisuke was a bit curious as to why they were at the mall. Jun never asked him to go here. She always went with her friends or current boyfriend. It was strange how lately she seemed to want to spend more time with him. He wasn't complaining, he didn't hate his sister, she was just good at irritating him.  
  
Daisuke followed her into a clothing store and stood to the side as she began browsing, "So," Jun said, making eye contact with Daisuke, "you and Ken... what are you two, like lovers or something?"  
  
Daisuke's face immediately flushed with a deep red. Why would she ask him that?! And in public?! Daisuke averted his gaze from his sister and over to a nearby rack that suddenly became very interesting. He didn't really know how to answer that, he knew that he and Ken had something, there really wasn't a way to explain it accept for, "It's complicated at the moment," he whispered.  
  
Jun shifted her weight to her right side and smirked, "My dear brother, I do believe you are blushing."  
  
The redheaded teen was obviously uncomfortable with talking about the subject, "Shut up, Jun," his eyes not looking at her.  
  
"Daisuke, it's ok. It really is... I don't understand why you two seemed to be ashamed of it," Jun whispered, but not really whispered.  
  
Daisuke pushed himself off the wall and leaned over the rack that his sister was looking through, "Like I said, it's complicated. At the moment we are kinda at a standstill because..." he trailed off.  
  
"His parents don't know, do they?" she asked.  
  
Daisuke was amazed that she was able to pick up on what was going on so easily. Jun played the part of ditzy, oblivious girl well, but slowly Daisuke was starting to believe she was smarter than she led on to be, "Just his father... and our friends, except maybe Takeru and Hikari, since they seem to somehow know everything."  
  
Jun picked up a purple V-neck shirt and held it against her body and peered over into the mirror, "Is that why you two fought," she asked.  
  
Her little brother sighed, "No, but that's another complicated answer."  
  
"Hmm, how does this shirt look?" she asked judging the shirt.  
  
"Huh? Oh, it looks ok I guess," he replied nonchalantly. After hearing her brother's reply she quickly returned the shirt to the rack.  
  
"Well, I like Ken. You two just seem to click together. I mean you two are total opposites, but at the same time you totally complement each other. I'm happy for you, Daisuke," Jun smiled before continuing to browse the racks. She picked up several shirts and a few pairs of blue jeans and carried them back to the dressing room. Daisuke, following behind her, sat down in a chair outside of the room.  
  
Within moments Jun returned in a tight grey shirt with loose shoulders and skinny jeans, "Well?" she asked.  
  
Daisuke was shocked to see his sister in anything besides her pajamas, this was almost new to him, he smiled and shook his head, "You look nice," he figured would be appropriate to say.  
  
"Just nice?" she asked.  
  
"Well, yeah. You do, why?" he asked.  
  
Jun replied with a sigh and she made her way back into the dressing room and moments later returned with a white low cut shirt with a black collar that split along down the middle, revealing her navel and black leggings.  
  
"How does this one look?"  
  
"Um... I guess it’s fine. I mean, do you like it?"  
  
Jun's face showed a hint of disappointment, "Well, I was hoping you could tell me. Hang on! I have a few more."  
  
A couple of outfits later Daisuke began to become more confused. He didn't know why his sister was asking him this. He didn't know anything about fashion and what girls liked. Now if she were asking him about soccer that would be a different story. But, for the last hour and a half she had been looking at clothes and was now modeling them and asking his opinion. Wait... oh, god...  
  
As Jun stood in front of the large three way mirror, Daisuke shook his head, "Jun, don't tell me because I'm gay I could help you pick out clothes?"  
  
Jun turned to her brother with a curious look, "Well, yeah. Gay guys are awesome at picking out clothes," she replied as if she had been asked the dumbest question ever, before turning back and fixing her make-up and straightening her shirt in the mirror.  
  
Daisuke could not help himself, he burst out into laughter, "What the hell is so funny, Daisuke?" Jun yelled, becoming irritated.  
  
This only made him laugh harder, making his sides hurt and throat go dry, "Oh... oh.... ohh my _god!_ " he finally got out through his intense fit of laughter, "Jun just because I'm gay doesn't mean I suddenly have an amazing fashion sense." he said before beginning to laugh just as hard.  
  
His sister's face fell at his laughter, suddenly becoming flushed with embarrassment, "Well, how was I supposed to know!? I figured it was like converting religions and there were rules you had to go by! Stop laughing!"  
  
Daisuke was finding it hard to breathe. He could see that he had embarrassed her, but it was just too funny. Is that what people really thought about gay guys? They skipped around and had amazing fashion sense? When Daisuke finally calmed down, his face completely red, sides hurting, throat dry, and weak in the knees, "Ohh, wow, that was funny,” he said once he had caught his breath.  
  
"No, that's not funny," she huffed, her cheeks still red with embarrassment.  
  
"Yes, it was. I'm sorry, Jun, I didn't mean to embarrass you... but I couldn't help it," her brother said, "Fashion isn't really my forte. Ken would probably know more than me, he dresses better than I do."  
  
Jun rolled her eyes, "This was a complete waste of time."  
  
"Well," Daisuke said, "for what it's worth, that outfit does look good on you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Expect new chapters weekly


	6. Letting People Down is My Thing, Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taichi tries to come up and ways to plan a new reunion...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Figured since the last chapter was so short that it wouldn't hurt to post another.

Taichi chewed on the end of his pencil, staring down at the paper in front of him. His eyes glanced over the heading he'd scribbled; Reunion Re-Plan. After that they glanced at the idea's he'd come up with so far, or rather, the complete lack thereof. The page was blank, still as white as ever.  
  
"Gah!" The brunette's hands shot up to his face and rubbed his eyes, a long, drawn-out yawn following shortly after. He couldn't think of anything at all... and he was pretty much flat broke right now, so wherever they were going to have it really had to be free or at least dirt cheap. Like... _dirt cheap_. He really had no one to blame but himself and Yamato, as they'd been the ones who went and got drunk at an important get together. It had been kind of funny to see Daisuke get in a drunken battle with Takeru though.  
  
Taichi laughed to himself at the memory, eyes glancing down at his empty paper again. He cut his laughter off with a groan and smacked his head onto the desk in aggravation. "Owww..." The Child of Courage rubbed his forehead and glared at the wooden surface, placing all of the blame for his injury upon it instead of himself.  
  
Well, this was just plain ridiculous now. He needed to get help with this or something, no way was he going to be able to plan the whole thing on his own if he couldn't even come up with one single idea. Yamato was out on a date with Sora right now so...  
  
Taichi felt a glare form on his face and his arms cross in front of his chest. Those... jerks. Back when he'd had his first adventures in the Digital World he'd had a pretty big crush on Sora. She liked soccer and was cute, and her personality was nice too. However, as they got older she changed from the rebellious child he'd first met and into a much calmer woman. He still liked her, but he could tell she just wasn't into him that way. She wanted someone more mature, and Taichi wasn't the type to pretend to be someone he wasn't.  
  
Once he'd hit his teenage years he started to develop an attraction towards Yamato. Taichi wasn't sure when or how that happened, exactly, it just kind of... did. He was a downright sexy guy, and even completely straight guys would attest to that. While the blonde had a serious personality he also had a mischievous side that Taichi found quite enjoyable.  
  
So, WHAT did those assholes go and do?! Start fucking dating each other, that's what!  
  
Not wanting to think about that anymore Taichi rose to his feet and shoved the paper and his keys into his pocket. This was stupid, he needed to go see someone or he was going to go brain dead. And if Yamato wasn't available, that left Taichi's other best friend! Koushiro could benefit from someone pealing his face away from that stupid laptop screen once in a while anyway. Human interaction was vital to a healthy life, as far as Yagami Taichi was concerned.  
  
He locked the door to his apartment and headed out into the parking lot where his car was. The building he lived in was funded by the college he attended, and that made his rent especially cheap. He was pretty much riding on a sports degree at this point, because keeping those math grades up was just not going to happen. Nope.  
  
Not having any classes today, Taichi didn't rush as he drove towards Koushiro's own college apartment building. The other boy was attending a much more... prestigious college, and they had a ton of security. Taichi would have to show his guest pass indicating that he knew Koushiro and blah blah fucking blah... god.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I know the spiel." Taichi showed his one-month guest pass to the guard. "I have to park in a guest spot and not a student or teacher's spot, no littering, no swearing in public areas, I've heard it all a thousand times. Come on man, I know you recognize me!"  
  
The guard sighed and opened the gate, Taichi driving inside with a grin on his face. He parked in his usual spot, which was about as close to Koushiro's room as possible. He hoped out of the car after that, locked the doors, turned on the alarm, and headed into the building. An elevator ride and a quick hallway walk later, he was standing in front of room K7.  
  
Taichi was about to knock on the door when a fun idea popped into his head. With a mischievous grin on his face, he slowly turned the knob and discovered that, as he'd predicted, Koushiro hadn't locked his door after coming home from classes the previous night. It wasn't something the redhead did often, but after having late night classes he was sometimes very tired when he got home and didn't think about it.  
  
Taichi silently shut the door and locked it this time. After that he slipped off his shoes and set his keys and phone down on the coffee table so that he wouldn't make any jingling sounds. He tiptoed down the hallway towards the bedroom where he figured Koushiro was probably studying intently or sleeping or something. Whatever it was, he wouldn't be doing it much longer!  
  
When he reached the bedroom door he noticed that it was cracked a bit, just enough that he knew he didn't have to turn the knob.

 

Koushiro had been working on his project nearly 3 weeks now. To get it done on time, he had planned it all out from the moment he came back from class the day it was assigned. However, he had a minor setback with the reunion last week, so today he was going to work in the extra time. He never understood these meaningless projects, with ridiculous standards, that college professors loved to dish out. It's not like he was ever going to use this certain knowledge in his work life.  
  
The red head sat at his desk with a pile of open books on either side of him. His fingers danced across the keyboard of his laptop, occasionally stopping to check his references before continuing.  
  
_Creak_  
  
Koushiro's head shot up and snapped to the side, listening for the source of the sound. Though it sounded awfully close, he dismissed it as probably a lose floor board from the apartment above him and continued typing.  
  
"Oh KouSHIROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Taichi hollered in a high pitched sing-song voice as he threw the door open and let it slam into the wall nearby, trying really hard not to crack up.

 

The next thing he knew his bedroom door had swung open so hard it almost knocked a hole in the wall. Koushiro's heart stopped in his chest as he flew from his seat and landed on the ground to see Taichi standing in his door, laughing.

 

"Taichi-san!" he shouted, clutching at his chest, panting fiercely, "That... that's not funny, you ass!"

 

Taichi was pretty sure he was going to pass out from laughter as he leaned his arms and head against the nearby wall. Not only had Koushiro literally jumped out of his seat and landed on the floor, but he'd actually gotten the oh-so-composed boy to swear at him! He loved it when a plan worked out better than expected.  
  
"Y-You're right..." Taichi trailed off, wiping the tears from his eyes. "It's not... funny at all..." A minute or so later he'd managed to calm down enough to walk over to his friend, who had now composed himself as well and was back sitting in his chair.  
  
"Ugh, Koushiro I need help with this!" Taichi whined, sitting on the boy's bed next to his computer desk. "The stupid reunion re-planning is giving me a headache! What should I do for it? Yamato's probably making out with Sora, so he's no help... jerk..."  
  
It was then that Taichi noticed the bags under the other boy's eyes. "You've been working at that computer way too long again, haven't you?"

 

The redhead shook his head and sat back down as Taichi composed himself, eventually joining him. Koushiro's face soured a bit, was it really that obvious that he had been working on his project for as long as he had? Yes, he had worked on this some nights until his eyes refused to remain focused and the words on his computer began to run into each other, forcing him to give up and go to sleep, but only to have to get up early the next morning—wash, rinse, and repeat.  
  
It had also occurred to him that the brunette was obviously hurt by the developing relationship between Sora and Yamato. Though he never had actually said it outright, Koushiro was no fool, he knew that he was in love with her. It would be understandable if he held secretly, in some way, resentment towards Yamato. He couldn't really blame her, but he figured that Sora had known Taichi for years and maybe at one point had a crush on him, but soon felt more comfortable around him with a brotherly type love. Contrary to popular belief, Koushiro had also felt the cold hand of rejection, once upon a time...  
  
He wasn't sure what to say when Taichi asked him for help on re-planning their reunion. After all, it was because of him and Yamato that this was going to have to be done. He also knew that college, even a regular university, was expensive and most likely eating away all of his funds. When he spoke to Sora while she was still in the planning process, she had already saved up quite a bit just to be able to afford everybody.  
  
"Hmm," he thought, cupping his chin, "well, what are your means of a budget? That would be a good starting position."  
  
It was then that he saw Taichi's face fall, which he could only assume that his hypothesis was correct, "As I speculated, since you are low on funds you might want to see if Yamato-san is willing to help pay for some of this. But, since you are still in the brainstorming stage I can suggest a picnic in the park, camping, or bowling. There are other options out there that don't involve alcohol," he said leaning back in his computer chair, crossing his legs.  
  
"By the way, did you enjoy yourself with that," he asked with a sarcastic bite to his words, cocking an eyebrow, before adding a smile.

 

"I enjoyed it quite a bit." Taichi smirked, but his face turned serious a few seconds later. "Well let's see what I do have right now..." He reached his hands into his pockets. He pulled them inside out, showing off a nice collection of pocket lint, 570.35 yen. "This, plus the 2623.61 yen of interest I've collected in my savings account gives me a grand total of 3255.56 yen." The brunette sighed and shook his head, fixing his pockets. "Yeah, Yamato is going to have to pitch in, assuming he doesn't blow all of his money on Sora or some shit."  
  
Taichi pouted a bit, but got over it quickly. He didn't want to shove his issues onto Koushiro too much, it wasn't like it was his fault. He knew that it was obvious he was still pretty sore about losing Sora to his best friend. To be honest though, Taichi really wasn't sure if anyone had picked up on his feelings for Yamato himself as well. Having lost two people he liked in one go had made it an especially sour experience. He'd never told anyone about being bisexual before, and really didn't know if he even intended to.  
  
He sure as hell wasn't going to tell Yamato, as he was clearly entirely straight and he just didn't need to add that drama to their friendship. The only ones he knew without a shred of a doubt also weren't straight amongst their group were Daisuke and Ken. The way those two drooled over each other? Yeah, he wasn't fooled. As for Koushiro... it wouldn't surprise Taichi if that guy didn't even have a sexuality. Not once had he ever see him show attraction towards anyone, male or female.  
  
"Uuuuuuuuugh!" Taichi sighed and flopped himself back down onto Koushiro's mattress. "Okay Koushiro, let's just say for example's sake that Yamato is just as broke as I am; where should we have the reunion? Like, what sounds fun to you that would be free or at most, something like 5 bucks a person? Daisuke is still in High School so it's not like he's going to have any money..."

 

"Daisuke-san? Why would Daisuke-san...?" he trailed off. Koushiro obviously knew Taichi and Yamato were going to have to re-plan the reunion because they got shit face drunk, but why would Daisuke? Wait... he disappeared and Jyou ended up taking him home because he got sick... he sighed, mentally slapping his palm to his face, ‘ _Those two got him drunk too_.’  
  
"Ugh, Anyways, if that is indeed the case, I would just suggest a picnic. However, once you decide to stop walking around on eggshells around Yamato and talk to him about this, there isn't much that can be done. And Daisuke-san, though I wasn't aware of him participating in your and Yamato-san's... _festivities_ , should also be the one you speak to about this," Koushiro turned and closed his laptop.  
  
He didn't want to sound like a parent to Taichi, but Taichi also needed to think about what he does before doing it, Daisuke was the same way. The both would run into something before actually thinking of possible consequences. Though Taichi was very hard headed and a bit... vague, Koushiro couldn't help but think some of his qualities were certainly admirable.  
  
The red head watched as Taichi had flopped back on his bed and couldn't help, but smile. Though they were all part of the same team, Koushiro felt the closest to Taichi. He was glad that the brunet had come to him for help. They didn't see each other as often as they should lately with all of them in either school, working, or both.  
  
He couldn't explain it, at least in a way he could accept, but for as long as he could remember, he always wanted to get closer to him. It always upset him when Taichi would leave him out of the loop. He never hesitated to call Yamato up, leaving Koushiro to learn through the grape vine. He knew that they were different, but couldn't hurt to at least try and include him.  
  
Koushiro sighed and came to his feet. He walked passed Taichi, who seemed to be rolling around and messing up his recently made up bed, and slapping him lightly on the leg, "I'm going to get something to drink, you thirsty?" he asked.

 

            "Ah..." Taichi trailed off when Koushiro put two and two together on the whole Daisuke thing... crap, he figured it out. He hadn't intended to tell him about it because he didn't want him to be mad, but as usual, Koushiro was smart enough to figure it out on his own anyway. Taichi had probably put his foot in his mouth though and made it obvious or something.  
  
He was right though, he really did need to talk to Yamato and Daisuke about what they were going to do. In fact, the three of them just needed to all get together and have a big planning session or something. That was probably the only way to make any real progress on this. The problem that Taichi was having with that though, was Yamato... it was hard to be around him now. They were still best friends and he really enjoyed his company, but anytime they were together Taichi was, at some point, reminded of all that relationship crap. That was why he had decided to try and get some space from the blonde and his girlfriend, at least until it wasn't such a fresh wound.  
  
Besides, he'd always had a lot of fun hanging out with Koushiro and it felt like they didn't see each other enough anymore. Actually, in some ways he felt closer to him than even Yamato, especially now.  
  
"Yeah I'm kind of thirsty." Taichi got up off the now wrinkled bed and followed the other boy into the kitchen. He made his way over to the fridge and opened it up, glancing around at the contents. "Oh cool, you actually have some soda in here instead of just vitamin water and protein drinks, like the last time I came over!" The brunette opened up his favorite carbonated beverage and flopped down on the couch in the living room. He noticed his phone and keys still sitting on the coffee table, and shoved them back into his pockets.  
  
"Man Koushiro..." Taichi trailed off as he flipped through the channels on the TV. "We need to hang out more, it's been way too long. You and Yamato are my best friends, yet I never see either of you! Yamato's always out with Sora now, and I mean yeah it makes sense, they're dating. But you aren't dating anyone and I still don't see you either! It's just not cool, life's boring without you." Taichi gave his friend a smile, and then turned back to the TV. "We should find a day of the week we both have time off and chill on that day, make it a weekly thing."

 

            Koushiro wanted to talk to him about the whole Yamato-Sora thing, to maybe get some things be obviously needed to get off his chest. The redhead grabbed a soda and followed Taichi into the living room, sitting down in the chair that was beside the couch.  
  
He couldn't help, but smile at the fact that the brunet wanted to spend time with him. He would love to do it, but as of late his school work was taking up the majority of his time. He hardly ever had time to leave his apartment except if he were going to class or to the library for research. Maybe getting out a little more often may do him some good, "Sure, that's sounds great," he said taking a drink out of his soda.  
  
"Taichi-san, forgive me for being intrusive, but," he sighed reached over and grabbed the remote, turning the volume on the television down some, "it's obvious that you liked Sora-san, but did Yamato-san know of your feelings for her?"  
  
Koushiro sat the remote on the coffee table and sat back in his chair. "Because I always found your infatuation with her rather obvious. But I wasn't sure if Yamato-san ever picked up on it."

 

            "Ah... well you see uh..." Taichi felt the words stumble out of his mouth and an awkward laugh follow. He ended off with a sigh and took another drink from his soda.  
  
How could he word this without giving away the fact that he also had feelings for Yamato? Well, maybe he could just be honest about it... Koushiro was a really open minded guy after all, he probably wouldn't think less of him or something. If there was anyone he was going to tell first it would probably be Koushiro anyway, as Yamato wasn't an option, and Hikari... well he could tell her, but he was pretty sure she already figured it out on her own.  
  
"Yamato..." Taichi thought hard about how to word it. "You know, I have no idea if he knows or not. We've never talked about the whole Sora thing before, and since I know she doesn't like me I never saw a reason to bring it up. If he knew I liked her then he probably figured that I'd be mature enough to deal with them getting together."  
  
Taichi sighed, knowing what Koushiro was going to ask. "I know what you're thinking; why don't I just talk to him about it and find out? It's... it's just that it's more complicated than that." Taichi watched as Koushiro waited patiently.  
  
"You see, if I had only liked Sora then them hooking up would have been easier to deal with..." Taichi trailed off. "But uh, ya know, when two people you like get together it's uh... a lot shittier."  
  
Taichi didn't say anything else after that, figuring that Koushiro could piece the puzzle together easily enough. Hopefully it would make more sense to his friend why he didn't even want to bother talking to Yamato about all of this.

 

            The redhead leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, not really making eye contact with his friend. He took another drink out of his soda and couldn't say he wasn't shocked at what Taichi had told him. He knew that it took a lot of courage to admit what he just did, which made a lot more since him being sore about Yamato and Sora ending up together.  
  
He chuckled, "That certainly is quite a conundrum I'll admit. I'm glad you were honest about this with me and trust me enough to tell me this."  
  
He looked over at the brunet, "If you want to ever talk to me, I'm here. I may not have much experience with that field, dating per se, but maybe I could help out in some way. You are my best friend and..." he trailed off coming to his feet. He left the sentence where it was and walked over to throw away the now empty can. When he returned he sat on the couch beside Taichi. Not really knowing what else to say to him, so he gave a sweet smile.

 

            Taichi smiled back, happy that Koushiro had taken it so well. He really hadn't been concerned, but it was always nerve wracking to some extent to admit something like that. At least Koushiro was someone he really could talk to about anything, even more than Yamato in some cases.  
  
"For the record though, I'm not totally gay or anything." Taichi found himself explaining. "I just like a few guys as well is all. I probably prefer girls but, I dunno, I can't seem to get along with them or something." Taichi laughed and turned back towards the TV.  
  
Then something occurred to him.  
  
"Koushiro, have you ever liked anyone before?" The brunet asked, keeping the volume low on the television in front of him. "I've just never really picked up on you having feelings for anyone at all, female or not." Then a mischievous smile crossed his face, "Because if you do like someone, I can totally help set you up with them!"

 

            Koushiro was taken aback. A blush exploded onto his face. He wasn't really expecting to be asked this. Also he didn't know how to reply to it. During the time they spent in the Digital World, Koushiro felt a special connection between him and Taichi. He didn't know whether it was an infatuation or just that he figured they were just good friends and he was comfortable around him, despite his flaws.  
  
He never told anyone about these feelings before, not even Tentomon. Mainly because he didn't know what it was, or knew what it was, just not ready to come to terms with it. He had also thought of the possibility of... Taichi, but seeing how he was crazy over Sora, he quickly pushed that thought aside. He would never admit it, but deep down it actually caused him heartache.  
  
"I.. uhh.. I, well," he stammered, trying to find his words, "I... have had feelings before," his face became hot. He didn't know why this subject made him flushed the way it did, but it seemed to worse once Taichi started questioning him.  
  
Koushiro's hand slightly trembled with nervousness, "It was... never anything serious," he added quickly, trying to look at anything, but his friend beside him.

 

            "Oh come on!" Taichi felt curiosity overwhelm him. "You can't tell me it's nothing after reacting like that! Who is it? I mean..."  
  
Well, Taichi didn't want to push too hard and make his friend feel awkward or something, but he really wanted to know who it was darn it! "If you really don't want to tell me then that's okay, I won't push it too hard... I just really want to know!"  
  
Taichi felt himself chuckle a bit at how much the other boy was blushing. He was really this embarrassed to admit that he liked someone? He didn't even know who it was yet! Man, he really needed to set his friend up or something.  
  
If he didn't find out today then whatever, but he wasn't going to settle with never knowing! He had to know, it was just... his job as Koushiro's best friend or something. Friends always knew who their friends had feelings for, that was like a law or something!

 

            Why did Taichi care so much on whom it was he once... probably... maybe still did have feelings for? He wouldn't just flat out say it like that. Unlike Taichi, Koushiro wasn't good at talking about his relationship statuses. He didn't even know how to describe these feelings let alone announce them. When it became obvious to Taichi that it was a vexatious matter and Koushiro did not really want to talk about it, the brunette dispensed.  
  
There was a small silence between them and that gave the redhead a moment to think. He didn't want to admit that he did have some feeling for Taichi, mainly because he never had a relationship before.  
  
His eyes wandered over to the darker body beside him and sighed, "Um.. I.." another sigh, "I'm not sure about anything at the moment. So, I'll have to get back with you on this one," he said, hoping his friend would understand. It's not like he was trying to keep it from him, but he also wasn't sure himself on what he was feeling.

 

           Years ago Taichi would have probably tactlessly kept on prodding, bent on getting what he wanted no matter what it took. However, he was a bit more mature than that now. All of their adventures in the Digital World and becoming an adult had made him a bit more perceptive. He could tell that Koushiro did not want to talk about this at all, for whatever reason, and Taichi didn't want to create an upset between them.  
  
"Alright." Taichi smiled and looked over at the clock on the wall. It had only been about 15 minutes since he showed up... man, they needed to go do something or... something. He didn't want to leave either and not take the other boy with him or Koushiro would undoubtedly just go sit right back in front of the computer again, and not get back up except for food and bathroom breaks.  
  
Nope, that guy needed some sunlight!  
  
"Hey Koushiro!" Taichi had an idea. "I can't think of anything for this stupid project, and neither can you, so we should go ambush Daisuke. Maybe he has some ideas! He's got a pretty big imagination." Taichi started laughing, loving that kid. Daisuke was such a spaz but he was a blast to hang out with.  
  
He was willing to let the crush thing go, but he wasn't going accept no for an answer on getting the other boy out of his stuffy apartment.

 

            Koushiro was glad that his friend accepted that he didn't want to talk about it. Not yet anyways. Taichi had come a long ways from how he used to be when they were in the Digital World. Taichi probably would have followed him everywhere, maybe even the bathroom, if he wanted to know something bad enough. Koushiro chuckled at the thought and looked over at the brunette.  
  
He figured since he was honing in on done with his project what he could afford some time away from it. However the better use of that time would probably be to go to sleep, but he could see why his friend was pressuring for him to go out. He had been sitting at that computer for what felt like days and needed the fresh air.  
  
"Sure," he said, "I don't remember the last time a saw the sun."  
  
The red head stood and headed back into the bedroom in search of his keys before heading back into the living room. Taichi was already standing outside of the door waiting on him. Koushiro locked the door before closing it, "Ok, let's go!" he chimed.

 

            Taichi smiled and got to his feet, slipping on his shoes after gathering up all of his stuff. Then he lead his friend out of the stuffy apartment and into his even stuffier car, turning on the AC to try and cool it down inside.  
  
The weather was nice today, sunny but not too hot. It was somewhere in the mid 70s, and Taichi was completely okay with it staying right there. If it got colder than it would be chilly, and hotter would make him all sweaty and uncomfortable. The traffic on the road wasn't too bad today either and he was getting all the green traffic lights. He was on a roll!  
  
Daisuke's place wasn't too far from Koushiro's school, though his own apartment would have been much closer. It took about a half an hour to drive there, and once they reached their destination they exited the car. Taichi locked the doors, and then the two of them headed upstairs to where the Motomiya residence was.  
  
Taichi knocked on the door and waited for his younger goggle head friend to answer the door.

 

            The drive over to the younger Chosen Child's house wasn't too long. The day was a nice one and Koushiro agreed with Taichi, it would have been a shame to waste it with his eyes glued to the computer screen and his fingers cramping from dancing relentlessly across the keyboard. He sat back in the seat lazily, looking out the window that obviously had not been cleaned in some time and watched as the other cars pass.  
  
It didn't take too long to reach Daisuke's apartment. It became very apparent that though Taichi wasn't too bad of a driver, he wasn't the best parker. Probably the worst hands down. After Taichi screeched into the spot and Koushiro opened the door, he saw that he had missed it completely, parking dead center between two spots. Koushiro chuckled as he shut the door, not bothering to mention it to his friend.  
  
Instead, he followed Taichi up the stairs to the apartment and watched as he knocked. He couldn't help, but feel a sigh of relief when he didn't ask him questions on the way over there about their conversation they had while at his apartment. It still made the redhead nervous just thinking about it, let alone speaking it.  
  
Koushiro's attention returned to the door as he heard it being unlocked. The door opened slightly, chain still on, to reveal Jun Motomiya peeking out at them. Her face grew discouraged and she didn't say anything. Koushiro smiled politely, "Hey Jun-san. Is Daisuke-san here?" he asked, only earning the door to be slammed shut.  
  
The smile on the redhead's face fell and his head snapped over to Taichi, who had an equally concerned face. Though it would be completely understandable why she wouldn't cater any reason to be nice to them. Though they were young and ignorant at the time, it was no excuse for what they did to her when they were younger. Jun wanted to get as close to Yamato as she could, however she was, for a lack of better words, an inconvenience for them. Daisuke and the others were going to the Digital World to stop Ken's path of destruction and it wasn't something she need to be involved in.  
  
Koushiro knew now that it was wrong what they had done to her. There wasn't any justified excuse for lying to her and just leaving her on the side of the road, but they did. Koushiro was guilty, too, for laughing and cracking jokes, just like Taichi and Yamato, but he saw it as a childish thing that maybe she would eventually look over. She must hold a grudge.  
  
Daisuke and Ken sat in his room. This weekend they decided to go to Daisuke's because it was more convenient and the cinnamon haired teen was feeling a bit lazy. He didn't seem to be having much of a problem with the math as he thought he was. It was then that he heard the front door slam and approaching footsteps that caught his attention.  
  
"What the hell....?" he asked, coming to his feet.  
  
He walked over to the door and opened it to see Jun, "Hey," she motioned to the door, "Taichi and that nerd kid are here."

 

            Ken looked over at Daisuke as Jun announced Taichi and "that nerd" having arrived, though it was obvious that she'd meant Koushiro. Why would they have come over though? Did they need something from Daisuke perhaps? It wasn't that he wasn't friends with them or something, it was just that he wasn't nearly as close to them as Daisuke was. Koushiro didn't really get "close" to others except apparently Taichi, and Taichi himself just didn't have much in common with him. Daisuke hung out with the older goggle boy all the time though.  
  
He followed Daisuke into the living room where his friend answered the door, Taichi immediately stepping inside.  
  
"Jeez... " Taichi whined as he and Koushiro entered the living room after him as well. "Is your sister sore about something?" He asked, having forgotten about the incident between them and her all those years ago. As far as he knew, she was just randomly mad about something. He'd never had the longest lasting memory anyway.  
  
Ken looked at Koushiro and Daisuke, wondering if either of them knew why she had suddenly seemed angry. She had been in a pretty good mood up until answering the door, so he had a feeling it had to do with either Taichi or Koushiro, or possibly both.  
  
"And seriously!" Taichi began before anyone could even answer his first question. "Ken, Daisuke, I need your help with this reunion re-planning shit... it's killing my head. I've got nothing, not even one idea!"  
  
"Well, let them answer your other question first." Ken laughed, shaking his head at the brunette.  
  
"Hah." Taichi scratched the back of his head in slight embarrassment. "Sorry, I just really need help with this and I forgot I'd even asked something else first..." Taichi was certain that this proved that spending large amounts of time thinking about the same thing was bad for the brain. Well, bad for his brain at the very least.

 

            Koushiro stepped inside of the dwelling, closing the door behind him. He didn't want to pry into Jun's personal life, unlike Taichi who shamelessly did. He would be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit curious though, but deep down he already knew the truth of the matter. Before Daisuke had a chance to reply, the brunette continued on and began asking about their reunion.  
  
Daisuke chuckled and shook his head, "Well, to answer your first question, she really hasn't liked you two and Yamato since we were younger. She said you guys were mean to her or something when we went camping," he paused and thought for a moment, "Now that I think about it, I don't know if she ever got over Yamato. But anyways, I have tried thinking of ideas, nothing really comes to mind."  
  
Koushiro sighed, he was right. It was completely understandable why she wouldn't like them. Maybe one day he could find some way to make it up to her.

 

            Taichi felt his eyebrow raise a bit at the memory of that camping trip, and how they'd ditched Jun on the side of the road. He... honestly hadn't thought she was still upset about that, to the point where it hadn't even crossed his mind as a possibility. That was just so long ago... they were like, what, fourteen years old or something? Man, she must have really been upset about that!  
  
"Huh..." Taichi trailed off finally, "I'll try to tell her sorry sometime, I guess I never really thought about it. We were really pretty rude to her that time... can't really blame her I guess."

 

            As for the other matter at hand, he tried helping Taichi with ideas. He figured that Daisuke would be able to shine a little light on this, but he seemed to me in the same position the brunette was. No surprise there, they were so much alike, "I wasn't sure what he had on a budget. I'm broke off my ass. Taichi, have you spoken to Yamato?"

           

            The brunette sat down on the Motomiya's couch. "No, I really haven't talked to Yamato about it yet." Taichi groaned. "He's been busy and shit like that, but I can probably get a hold of him tomorrow. I just hoped someone had a good idea _today_."  
  
"Well..." Ken trailed off, thinking about it as best he could. "Since you all seem broke and Yamato surely won't be in a better financial situation himself, why not just go to Yoshino park? It has covered picnic areas in case it rains, and a really nice forest there. I think there's a river too with boat rides or something. We can just make it a potluck and have everyone bring something to eat. That way no one has to spend a bunch of money but there's enough for everyone to eat."  
  
"Hey, I like that!" Taichi smiled, standing up and patting the slender boy on the back. Not that the idea of a park hadn't been mentioned already, but Taichi himself didn't really know of any. Ken's idea of going to Yoshino was great, and he wished he'd thought of it on his own. "See, this must be why Daisuke's grades only _kind of_ suck now. He's got a smart guy like you to whip him into shape!" Taichi snickered, sticking his tongue out at the younger goggle boy.  
  
Ken blushed and looked down at the floor, not used to such heavy flattery. Well, he supposed Daisuke could lay it on thick at times, though he was a little more used to his best friend's compliments than one of the older kids. Ken's thoughts were cut short though by the sound of Taichi's stomach growling.  
  
"Ah... haha..." the brunette rubbed the back of his neck and grinned, “I haven't really eaten much today I guess...”

 

            Koushiro's attention went to Taichi as he praised Ken for his idea. He couldn't help, but pout about the fact that he had suggested the park and Taichi didn't seem too keen on it, but once Ken suggested it, the brunette practically fell to his knees in praise. He was good for leaving Koushiro out of things. He had done it for some time, sometimes the redhead found himself being numb towards it.  
  
Daisuke smiled at Ken's blush from the compliment he was paid. He knew that when he did it, Ken just graciously accepted it because he was used to it, however he wasn't with Taichi. Though when the brunette fixed the subject on his grades he felt the sudden urge to smack him. He was doing way better in his subjects due to Ken's help... he could also see that Koushiro had a sour face, about what, he didn't know. But Taichi must have been on a roll on offending people today.  
  
The room fell silent when a loud roar emerged from the brunette's abdominal region. Daisuke chuckled at the expression on his face. He had to admit he was pretty hungry himself. He had been avoiding the subject since his parents hadn't had a chance to go to the store and didn't want to confess to not having a way to feed his guests. Well, his parents would most likely bring something for he and Ken, but not for unexpected guests.  
  
"Well," the cinnamon haired teen said, "I would offer you something... if we had anything... but..."  
  
"I'll pay for us something to eat," Koushiro said from across the room.  
  
Daisuke was a little relieved to hear him say that. Plus, he and Ken needed a break since they had been studying for hours. A good leg stretching would be good, "You sure, buddy?" he asked.  
  
Koushiro smirked, "Daisuke-san? Coy? Ha, I supposed Ken-san's influence is taking effect after all." he looked over at the slender teen, earning another to flush to appear on his cheeks.

 

            Taichi blinked as he looked around the room. First Jun had been mad at him, now Koushiro and Daisuke seemed upset, and Ken was staring down at the floor... "Oh come on guys!" The brunette sighed in defeat. "Why is everyone getting all upset at me today? You know I'm just messing around about your grades, right Daisuke? And it's okay to be complimented, Ken."  
  
And what was up with Koushiro? Taichi thought hard about what he might have said or done that his friend would be upset at him for, because he was getting those "damn it Taichi" vibes again...  
  
"It's okay." Ken laughed before Taichi had a chance to ask Koushiro what he was upset about. "We know you weren't being serious. Let's just go, okay?"  
  
"Alright," Taichi gave in and settled on asking Koushiro later, right now it was food time!  
  
The group made their way out of the apartment and down into the parking lot where Taichi had parked his car. The brunette stuffed his keys into the slot, started it up, and then turned to look at everyone in the car before heading out.  
  
"So where do you guys want to go?" He asked. "I was thinking that one place down the street that has a bunch of different kinds of food, because I bet none of us are going to agree on what we want."

 

            Daisuke was the first the reach the car after screaming to Jun they were leaving. As he reached the car he called, "I call shotgun!"  
  
Koushiro shook his head and smiled, "That's fine I'll sit back here with Ken-san."  
  
Daisuke hopped into the car and fastened his seat belt, impatiently waiting on the group to join him. He agreed with Taichi's suggestion because it was obvious that it would take forever to agree on a place to eat. He looked back at the other in the backseat, "That sounds fine with me. What do you guys think? Koushiro you are the one paying..."  
  
Koushiro turned his attention to the cinnamon haired teen after fastening his seat belt. The redhead was never really picky on what he ate as long as it wasn't something he knew would make him sick later, "That's fine. You alright with that Ken-san?"

 

            "Yes, that would be great." Ken smiled from the passenger seat directly behind Daisuke and gave a polite nod. He knew he was doing that "thing" again, as Daisuke called it, where he was much more proper than he needed to be around unfamiliar faces. He couldn't help it though, it just happened. He'd do it without even realizing it.  
  
"Alright!" Taichi grinned and drove out of the parking lot and out onto the street. He was a pretty good driver in his opinion, though he didn't know what anyone else thought. He didn't speed or do reckless things, and he obeyed the laws very well. The only thing was that his parking sucked, and he was simply incapable of parallel parking entirely. If that had to happen, then someone had to take the driver's seat and do it for him.  
  
"Oh man, so Ken!" The brunette spoke up again after only a few more minutes had passed. "What have you been up to? I don't really talk to you as much so I never know."  
  
"Mostly just studying and playing soccer with Daisuke." Ken replied from the backseat, and Taichi felt himself grin a bit. He was very well aware that something was going on between them, something a bit further than friendship. He wasn't going to call them out on it here in front of Koushiro though... he'd just save that for when he and Daisuke were alone together or something.  
  
"What about you Daisuke?" Taichi settled with changing the subject before he couldn't help but say something to Ken.

 

           "Well," he thought about how he should answer that. Lately he had been hanging out with Ken and studying and what not, but he also came out to his parents. Should he mention that? No, it would probably embarrass Ken. Though he wasn't ashamed of it, he wouldn't sure if Ken would like him telling the others. Also, as of late, he had been battling a strange and growing addiction. Though he hadn't done anything in a while, it was still there.  
  
After a brief pause he settled with, "We," motioning at his best friend, "have basically been studying a lot. We will go to the park and play soccer sometimes. That's about it. We try to keep ourselves busy I suppose."  
  
There was something about the way Daisuke spoke about Ken that was a bit off setting. Not in a bad way, but he began to notice every time he spoke about his friend, the way his name would come out, and some gestures even, didn't really seem like he was talking about a friend, but more of a lover. He figured out for some time that even if that was the case it couldn't be more perfect.  
  
The two of them complimented each other in so many ways though their personalities were almost completely opposite. He would have found himself happy for them if that were the case. He wouldn't ever pry into their personal lives like that though he wouldn't be surprised if Taichi did. However he couldn’t help have that thought rest in the back of his mind.  
  
"Taichi you should join us one day. I bet I could kick your ass now," Daisuke said with a laugh.

 

            "Hah!" Taichi scoffed with a smirk on his face at the younger goggle boy's comment. He was damn sure that he could beat Daisuke in a one on one match. The other boy was skilled no doubt, but Taichi was the one who had taught him most of what he knew in the first place. Granted, Ken had been teaching him some new things here and there as well.  
  
All sorts of new things, apparently.  
  
Taichi snorted and shook his head, looking back over at Daisuke. "Whatever dude, I could kick your ass any day! Besides, I totally challenged you to a game not long ago and you never showed up! I bet you were scared. Chickennnnnnn!"  
  
Ken watched the exchange and almost laughed a bit, the way Taichi was provoking Daisuke. He just hoped his friend wouldn't take it too seriously or anything, he could tell Taichi was just playing around. The elder Chosen leader loved to do things like that he'd noticed.  
  
It was then that Ken realized Koushiro had been looking at him with a strange expression on his face, as though he was trying to figure something out. It had started after Daisuke had mentioned the two of them playing soccer a lot together and studying. What was on Koushiro's mind? He could probably ask and get a genuine answer, as the two of them did hang out on occasion. Ken had a lot more in common with the Child of Knowledge than any of the other older kids that was for sure. He'd ask another time though, not while they were all together in Taichi's car.

 

            Daisuke's face soured at Taichi's taunts. He knew it was playful banter, but he didn't want to show a weaker side of him, "That was, like, two years ago... and... I was sick that day," he lied. Daisuke remembered that day well. He had been hanging out with Taichi, who began his usual taunts and ended up challenging him to a match. Of course, being Daisuke, he wasn't going to back down face to face, so he accepted the challenge. After he got home, it became apparent to him that Taichi would grind him into the ground for he had more skill.  
  
Daisuke's pride couldn't take that kind of hurt, so he therefore forfeited the match. He later decided to make up some kind of excuse he knew his elder wouldn't believe, but would still accept.  
  
"Taichi-san, leave him alone," Koushiro interrupted from the back seat, "don't start taunting him over something that was a long time ago."  
  
"Yeah!" Daisuke said turning to Taichi, "doesn't matter what happened then, I could kick your ass now. I can handle anything you are willing to dish out."

 

If Koushiro's words had cooled Taichi's head it only lasted a second, Daisuke inflating his ego with his taunts. Sure Taichi had started it just a few seconds ago, but that didn't change anything. He had to defend himself now!  
  
"You so can't handle anything." Taichi laughed and shook his head, keeping his eyes focused on the road and not seeing the determined gleam in the young leader's eyes.  
  
Ken, however, did see the expression on his best friend's face and felt himself tense up a bit, not liking where this was going. He knew Daisuke's secret lust for exhilaration, and he knew that it was not a good idea to provoke him in any way.  
  
"That's enough guys," Ken tried to break into the conversation and end it right there.  
  
"Oh pssssh, Daisuke's just being a pussy." Taichi laughed, not catching the other boy's serious tone of voice. "He's gonna have to prove himself real good now, by climbing up on top of my car roof while I'm driving it!" Taichi laughed, using the most joking tone of voice he could. It wasn't like he actually thought the boy would do something that stupid, he was just joking around.  
  
Daisuke knew that, of course.

 

Daisuke sat silently for a few moments. He knew Taichi was joking, but somehow his taunts dug into Daisuke deeply. He had been looking for an excuse for exhilaration and now it looks like he found it. He heard the seriousness in his friend's voice and knew that he was worried about him. But this was something he had taken personally.

 

‘ _Okay,’_ he thought, _‘I'll show his ass.’_  
  
Koushiro could see the look of worry wash over Ken's face. Why would he worry over meaningless taunts like he thought the cinnamon haired teen would actually commit such a ridiculous act. Ken had become noticeably clammy. His indigo eyes were staring a hole through the other teen, "Ken-san," the redhead said, catching the other's attention, "pay no mind to Taichi-san. He can be quite the child sometimes." He said this, not knowing that it wasn't Taichi he was worried about.  
  
Daisuke without a second thought quickly rolled down the already cracked window and unbuckled his seat belt. He looked to see Taichi's eyes on the road with a stupid smirk on his face. Daisuke couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he proved he wasn't a coward. With a sigh he pulled himself onto the windowsill on the car.  
  
From the corner of his eye Koushiro saw the cinnamon haired teen moving about. When his snapped his head to the side and saw Daisuke climbing out the window. Before his body could react Daisuke was practically already out of the window. All he could do was shout, "DAISUKE!!"

 

The moment Taichi heard Koushiro yell the boy's name he looked over at the passenger seat. His heart dropped into his stomach immediately, the cinnamon haired boy already halfway out the window. "W-What the fuck?!" Taichi stammered and gripped the wheel so tight his knuckles turned white, "Dude I was joking, stop! S-Someone grab him!"  
  
Ken had already thrown his seatbelt off while this was going on. He jumped forward between the driver's seat and passenger seat, trying to grab the other boy before he'd made it all the way up. Unfortunately the time it had taken him to be free of the seatbelt had prevented him from being fast enough, and the redhead was already fully up there now.  
  
"Daisuke!" Ken shouted, sticking his upper body halfway out the window to look up on the roof. "Get back in the car, right now!" His voice was harsh and he didn't try to hide his anger in the slightest.  
  
"Sh-Shit..." Taichi quickly moved the car to the right and into the shoulder of the road where no other cars would be and began to brake. He was stressed out though and extremely confused, his arms shaking while still holding the wheel. Unfortunately because of this he wasn't able to do it quite as gently as he would have liked.

 

Once Daisuke was able to climb onto the roof of the car he could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins, his heart beating fast. Since there wasn't anything to grab onto it was hard for him to keep his balance. He could hear the others calling his name, but it was too late. He turned his gaze back to see Ken's upper body sticking out of the window with pure rage etched into his eyes. He knew that his friend would probably get mad about this but for some reason, at the moment, it didn't really bother him that much.  
  
He knew that the car was going at a decent speed when he climbed out. The speed of the car only made his activity all the more exhilarating. The wind was somewhat blinding, but not something that would bother him too much.  
  
Before he knew it though the car was losing speed and moving over to the shoulder of the highway, which was kind of a bummer for Daisuke. It was then that the cinnamon haired teen knew something was wrong. The car began shaking, most likely from Taichi trying to keep the vehicle steady. All it took was for the brunet to punch the brake a little too hard for him to fly off, and sadly that's what happened.  
  
Before Daisuke knew it, he was rolling off the back of the car and smacked the ground with impressive force, making everything for him suddenly go black. His legs and arms were drug on the road, tearing and burning the skin. His face was also affected by this as well, but not as much as the impact itself.  
  
When Koushiro had heard a sudden roll on the roof, he knew things weren't good. He saw Daisuke make a futile attempt to stay on the car, but in the end fall. His eyes widened and his heart stopped at the audible smack the teen's body made as he hit the asphalt, "OH MY GOD!! DAISUKE! TAICHI STOP NOW!!!!"

  
When the car came to a screeching halt Koushiro threw off his seat belt and ran to the teen’s motionless body. He could see where his blood stained the road making the first thought to go through this mind was Daisuke was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look for updates weekly! Kudos/Comments are not required but greatly appreciated!


	7. All Those Years Living In A Blur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This takes place right after Daisuke's accident. How will his family and friends react to learning the truth?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since last week was a hectic with my school and there being a holiday I didn't have a chance to post a chapter (Sorry -_-).   
> -Tabi

Ken ran through the hospital hallways, his breath coming out in pants. The ambulance hadn't let anyone ride along with Daisuke when he was taken to the emergency room, so Taichi had to drive them there instead. They'd gotten his room number and the address to the place, so it hadn't been hard to find.  
  
Taichi was following right behind Ken as best as he could, though he had to admit that he was surprised that Ken was still as fast as he was. Apparently his crazy speed hadn't been the dark spore's influence, and it really was a natural talent of Ken's. Maybe Daisuke really could kick his ass in a match if he was playing against this and actually keeping up...  
  
This wasn't the time to think about that though, so Taichi looked behind him to see if Koushiro was still following. His best friend wasn't exactly a sports player, or a physical person of any kind, so running all the way from the parking garage, through the hospital, up many flights of stairs due to the long elevator wait pissing Ken off too much, and then down the hallway to Daisuke's room wasn't exactly something he did often. They'd turned a ton of corners now though so he wasn't sure if he was right behind them or not.  
  
Ken stopped suddenly, Taichi nearly running into his back from having been looking behind for Koushiro instead of in front of him. Ken knocked on the door and waited, clearly impatiently from his shifting back and forth between feet. Taichi put a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down, but it didn't seem to help much.  
  
The door opened and Daisuke's doctor came out, shutting the door behind him. "Yes?"  
  
"Can we see Daisuke?" Ken asked immediately. "We're his... friends..." Ken realized right when he said that they were friends that chances were high they wouldn't be allowed in yet. Sure enough, the doctor shook his head.  
  
"He's not ready for non-family visitors yet. I'll come out in 30 minutes and let you know, but I wouldn't expect to go in for another hour or more."  
  
"Is he alright, can you at least tell me that?" Ken's voice was not its normal polite tone, and was very much impatient and irritated. The doctor didn't seem phased by it though, surely dealing with this often.  
  
"I'm not allowed to give details on the patient yet, but I can say that he will recover just fine."  
  
"Alright... thanks..." Ken sighed and flopped down in one of the many chairs in the hallway, Taichi doing the same. Koushiro must have really lagged behind... hopefully he'd be able to find where they were and didn't get lost. Ah shit, maybe he should text him.  
  
Taichi pulled out his cell and sent his friend a message with Daisuke's floor and room number, just in case.

 

Koushiro wasn't shocked when he was left behind. Both Ken and Taichi were athletes so running long distances was nothing to them. He would have preferred the brunet to go with Ken in case he tried to knocking passed doctors and probably ending up getting in trouble with the hospital due to strict regulations. As he ran down the hallway he received a text from Taichi reminding him where exactly they had been heading.   
  
It occurred to him that they might have to wait to see him until his family... oh god. A sudden fear washed over him. The redhead knew one of them was going to have to make that call to Daisuke's family that he was in the hospital. His heart began to pick up more speed, seeing how it was already going a mile a minute from running. Koushiro stopped for a moment to catch his breath and to also try and think straight. Daisuke was in their care and even though the idiotic stunt he pulled was his own, they were supposed to be watching him at all times.   
  
He knew this wasn't going to be pretty. He knew that Taichi would probably not be willing to make the call. He knew that ever since that incident with Hikari when they were little he never liked hospitals or being the bearer of bad news. Koushiro, to be honest, didn't really want to be in that position either and knew Ken would probably do it, depending on how he was taking it. The redhead finally made it to the floor where Taichi had said, and saw that they were sitting in the waiting area.   
  
""How is he?" he asked, not getting a response straight away, but eventually getting an answer from Taichi saying that he lived which was a big relief.   
  
Koushiro took seat on the other side of Taichi. The room was silent, excluding to occasional pages for doctors over the intercom. The redhead could see the obvious amount of worry that plagued the two beside him. Taichi seemed to be jittery and Ken looked as if he were almost in tears. He couldn't blame either of them, though he knew he hid it well, Koushiro was terrified. He was terrified on how Daisuke's family was going to act. He wished he did more to stop him.   
  
Koushiro sighed, pulling his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes. He knew he was going to have to mention the fact that Daisuke's parents haven't been called, "Guys," he said looking up, "one of us is going to have to inform his family. Better they hear it from us first instead of the hospital."

 

Ken felt his heart drop into his stomach at Koushiro's words. That's right, Daisuke's parents needed to be called... the hospital would call them on their own soon if they hadn't already, and that would be surely more upsetting to them than if Ken or one of the others called. Actually, it would really only make them feel better if Ken or Taichi called, because Koushiro was just as much a stranger as the random people working at the hospital were. Even if Taichi had been the one driving, it still felt like his own personal responsibility to tell them, not anyone else.  
  
"I... I'll do it..." Ken took a deep breath and pulled out his cell phone as he started feeling sick to his stomach, dialing the Motomiya residence. He walked away from the others a bit. He wasn't trying to hide anything, he just wanted to keep the conversation as private as possible.  
  
Taichi turned to face Koushiro across the small hallway as Ken walked around the corner.  
  
"So... what the hell is up with Daisuke?!" Taichi exclaimed as his eyes grew larger. "I can't believe he did that! Normal people don't take a joke that far... Has anyone said anything to you about something going on with him? I mean..." Taichi pondered a bit, "I bet Ken knows more than you would, but I dunno if he'll tell us right now."  
  
Ken seemed pretty emotional and not himself, so Taichi wasn't sure if he wanted to ask the boy about Daisuke. He might have to though...

 

Though Taichi was the one who was provoking Daisuke, he did have a point. It's not every day you see someone jump onto the roof of a moving vehicle just from pure provocation. Daisuke seemed to be driven by it from something else. Also, when the brunet brought the challenge up, Ken seemed worried, almost like he knew Daisuke would actually do it.   
  
Something was definitely askew. He hadn't heard anything from any of the others, so whatever it was, Ken seem to be the only one to know about it, "I completely agree with you. Ken-san was getting upset when you started provoking him. He knew something would happen," the redhead crossed his legs, "but whatever it is, I am sure it will be out in the open soon enough."  
  
Koushiro made eye contact with Taichi, "I just hope Daisuke-san is alright. I mean, Taichi-san, I could hear him hit the ground..." the redhead trailed off obviously bothered by it.   
  
He came to his feet and began pacing back and forth, cupping his chin. He couldn't make since out of it. He had never seen anything like this before and, hopefully he wouldn't again, but something was just off. Before he could say anything else be could hear the echoing footfalls coming around the corner the Ken went around. When he saw the slender teen returned it was very obvious that he was bothered. He wasn't sure if it was something his parents had said or the fact that he might have been worried about having to tell them in general, "Were you able to get a hold of them?" he asked, sincerely.

 

Ken sighed and put his cell phone back in his pocket. "Yeah, I talked to Daisuke's dad and explained what happened. He wanted to know why he jumped up on the roof like that and I told him, but it didn't seem to calm him down... he's on his way here right now."  
  
"Well I don't blame him for not buying it." Taichi remarked, choosing his words as best he could. "Come on Ken, don't hide stuff from _us_ at least. Something's up with Daisuke, right? I mean, Koushiro said you were really tense and freaked out right before he did it, like you knew he would."  
  
Ken felt his blood run cold, being so clearly called out like this. He really hadn't thought about what he'd do if Taichi or Koushiro asked him about Daiuske's... borderline insane act. It really should have occurred to him that they'd ask, but he'd been thinking about other things up until now, like Daisuke's survival.  
  
There really wasn't an excuse he could think of, and as more time went by where he stood in an awkward silence, it was more and more obvious that something really was up. Screw it, he might as well just say it now... they wouldn't believe anything else anyway.  
  
"He..." Ken started and sighed, sitting down next to Koushiro. The other two stared at him intently, waiting for a logical reason as to why their friend would endanger himself so much. "He's not coping with losing V-Mon and the Digital World... he keeps doing things for the thrill because it reminds him of our adventures back when we were kids, and they get more and more extreme each time. I noticed it a bit ago, and we've had some fights over it. I wanted to respect his wishes and not tell anyone yet as long as he was improving, but obviously he's not getting better..."  
  
Ken looked down at his hands and felt a strong wave of guilt wash over him. "I should have said something sooner, this is all my fault. I was afraid of him being mad at me which isn't responsible. He can get as pissed off as he wants, he needs help."  
  
Taichi blinked as he took in the information. "Shit... seriously?" The brunet asked finally, breaking the awkwardness between them. "Why didn't he ever tell me about this? I've been through the exact same thing multiple times, I could have helped him! I mean, no offense Ken, but I've had more experience coping without the Digital World."  
  
"It's okay, I understand." Ken sighed, knowing the brunet was right. Ken wanted to be the one to help Daisuke with any and every problem and it made him a bit selfish. Taichi really was the better person for this job, but Ken had been... jealous, maybe. Well it wasn't about being "closest" to Daisuke anymore, it was about stopping him from driving off a fucking cliff!

 

Koushiro thought for a moment. He, too, knew the feeling of coping with the loss of Tentomon. In fact, there wasn't a day that went by that the redhead didn't think of his digital partner. Through the years the pain seemed to fade, but never fully go away. He remembered that night after the gate to the Digital World shut for the last time. He was sitting at his computer, like always. The feeling of knowing he would never see Tentomon again had not fully sunken in. Koushiro suddenly felt this incredible thrust of sadness wash over. Tears pulled at his eyes, stinging and burning, until they flowed freely down his cheeks.  
  
The next thing he had become aware of, he was lying face down on his bed. Unbeknownst to him, having gone over there while in a haze. He stayed like that all night, not wanting to move. It had hit him like a ton of bricks, knowing now that he would probably never see the insect digimon again. It was a part of him he wasn't ready to let go of. After their return from the first time in the Digital World, he had a feeling, deep down within him they would meet again, but this time there wasn't.   
  
He knew he wouldn't be lucky enough to ever see his digimon partner again, though even he secretly prayed they would be called back once more, selfish as it may be. It took some time, but soon everything in the redhead's life became normal again, and the pain that was once there was replaced with fond memories. Maybe that was something Daisuke was having trouble doing.   
  
That explained a lot though. Some people have trouble coping. The redhead nodded, "That makes a lot of sense. I mean, he got drunk at the reunion and fought Takeru-san, and now this just because he missed the thrills of helping the Digital World."  
  
Koushiro took a seat, "Well, Ken-san, I can't say I can agree completely with your methods, but I can respect the fact that you were wanting to help your friend along with honoring his wishes. But I don't see how Daisuke-san could think for one second how he could do something so dangerous and not expect us not to ask questions. That wouldn't make one iota of since."  
  
The Child of knowledge went silent for a moment, "I'm going to be honest, though you have explained this to his parents, I am still a bit nervous on their reaction when they actually see him. He got banged up pretty bad... and we don't actually know the full extent of his injuries yet either."

 

"I doubt he thought you wouldn't ask any questions." Ken thought out loud, his voice mirroring the sadness he was feeling in his chest. "He probably wasn't thinking about it at all. He was just so driven to give in to that urge that he stopped thinking about all else entirely."  
  
"I'll fucking say!" Taichi exclaimed and leaned back in his chair, resting his head against the wall behind him. "He seemed kind of possessed or something. I need to talk to him when he wakes up..."  
  
"Please do," Ken begged, "I wanted to be the one to help him but I've clearly failed horribly at it, so if you think you can do something then do whatever you can."  
  
Taichi nodded and the two of them fell into silence, waiting for the doctor to come out and tell them of their friend's condition. He really hadn't give them any information yet, other than the fact that Daisuke would recover. That did help Ken feel better but it just wasn't enough. Was he going to be in the hospital for a while? Was he awake right now and totally fine? Ugh, why couldn't the damned doctors just tell him?!  
  
Ken had been just about to groan when he saw someone approaching quickly down the hallway towards them. He felt his blood run cold as he recognized the person as Mr. Motomiya, who was followed closely by Jun.  
  
Shit.

 

Mr. Motomiya and Jun had made it to the hospital as quickly as they could. Since Daisuke's mother was in the middle of a meeting and was taking no calls, he figured that he would continue to try her until he could reach her. Jun was completely terrified at this point. One, for her brother's well-being and also for the fact that their father drove there like a maniac. He ran multiple stop lights and signs, cut many people off, and almost ran over a pedestrian.   
_  
‘What in the hell was Daisuke thinking? Shit....’_ she thought.   
  
Jun could see her father's face. He didn't really show any emotion, but he didn't know whether to be angry or sad, happy he was alive or mad that he did this stupid shit to begin with. What was he going to say to him? Jun wondered before thinking about what she would say to him. As they ran down the hallway toward to immediate care, Mr. Motomiya turned the corner to see Ken, Taichi, and Koushiro sitting there.   
  
Jun's eyes narrowed at the sight of Taichi and that nerd. Of course, this would happen with them around. He never did this around anyone else. Mr. Motomiya, on the other hand, knew this wasn't their fault, but he still couldn't help but feel they more could have been done, "Where is my son?" he asked as calmly as he possibly could. He didn't really seem to wait for an answer, before walking to the front desk, and letting them know who he was.   
  
"I'm sorry, Mr. Motomiya, at the moment he is in x-rays, but we will let..." she was then cut off by Daisuke's father, "Is he even conscious?!" he exclaimed in a panic, his head dropping into his hand.  
  
The woman was obviously startled, "Uh.. uh.. I am not sure. I'll check, sir," she stammered before walking away.  
  
Jun looked over at Taichi, then to Koushiro, making the redhead's blood run cold. He knew that this was not his fault, but nonetheless, could feel that he would be blamed in some way. "What the fuck were you guys doing?" she asked, venom in her voice.   
  
"Jun-san," Koushiro spoke up, "we didn't do anything."  
  
She scoffed, "So you honestly believe that I am going to believe that for no fucking reason my brother just jumped from a FUCKING MOVING car!?"   
  
Koushiro furrow his eyebrow, he knew right now would not be a good time to yell at her. Her actions were out of worry. "Jun-san, it's not like we put a gun to his head and made him do it. Please calm down and try to understand that. I know you do not like me or Taichi-san, but that doesn't mean we would _ever_ do anything to hurt Daisuke-san just to spite you!" he came to his feet, "We love Daisuke-san and would never want him hurt or go through the things he is."  
  
Jun was taken aback, she wasn't expecting him to say anything. She just supposed he would take it. She looked over at her father as the nurse came back out then looked at Ken. She could see how hurt he really was by this, and then back to Koushiro, "What exactly is wrong with him?"

 

            "Jun please stop!" Ken got to his feet and stepped between her and Koushiro. Even though she seemed to have calmed down a bit after Koushiro's outburst, Ken wasn't going to let him and Taichi take the fall for this. "This isn't their fault at all, they had no idea he was going to do that. If it's anyone's fault it's mine..."  
  
Ken looked at Mr. Motomiya and back at Jun, feeling a sickness settle in his stomach. He'd been nervous before about the Motomiya family accepting his relationship with Daisuke in the first place, and right after they'd seemed to be alright with it, this happened... what if they couldn't stand him anymore and didn't want him around their son? He had to tell them the truth though... regardless of his fears.  
  
Ken also knew that the Motomiya family knew about the Digital World, V-Mon and all of Daisuke's past adventures. After they'd seen their battle with BelialVamdemon everyone had been forced to fully explain what had been going on to their families. Ken had already told his parents, but that was when most of the others found out.  
  
"Daisuke is... having thrill urges because he misses the Digital World. We were constantly risking our lives to help the Digimon, and now that the world is closed off to us, doing stunts like this makes him feel like he's reliving it again. He told me that himself... and I haven't said anything. He asked me not to and I didn't want to make him angry. I wanted to help him myself... I'm his best friend. I truly did not believe he'd take it this far..." Tears were welling up in his eyes, so Ken bowed before Mr. Motomiya both as a respectful gesture, and also to hide his face, "I take full responsibility."  
  
"H-Hey Ken, don't do that." Taichi stepped forward and put a hand on Ken's shoulder. He stood up straight but did not look up at anyone. Taichi sighed, "If anything it was my fault, I mean, I provoked Daisuke. We were going out to get some food and I ended up bickering with Daisuke about who's better at soccer. I jokingly called him a coward and said he'd have to climb up on the roof to redeem himself... and I guess he thought he'd prove me wrong or something... but shit man, if I'd known that he was actually going to do it I would have shut my mouth for sure!"  
  
"That's why I take responsibility," Ken spoke again, "Because I knew and didn't tell anyone."  
  
"Fine we can both take half responsibility." Taichi sighed and shook his head. He just hoped Mr. Motomiya didn't punch them both.

 

Mr. Motomiya stood there solemnly, thinking how to take this in. He knew that when they were younger they are gone to the Digital World. And over the years his son had shared stories about the place. He never knew that after so long it would still affect him the way it is. He looked to his daughter and who seemed to be having as much trouble taking this in as he is. He wished that this had been brought to his attention sooner. He must admit he was disappointed in both Taichi and Ken.   
  
He knew that his son wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but he figured the damn boy had more sense than that. He wondered if the other children had urges like this. Maybe one of them could possibly help him. He knew that if he took the boy to see a psychologist or someone like that, they would probably lock him up in a padded room.   
  
He knew that his son and Ken were in some sort of relationship, though they didn't fully come out and say it and figured that this must have been a big contribution to the reason why he didn't mention this sooner. He sighed, "Listen, I am not going to lie, Taichi, Ken, I am disappointed in the both of you. Ken, for you not telling me or anyone for that matter until now. I know it maybe because of the whole relationship thing or whatever, but that was something that should have been brought up before it got this severe. Taichi, you have known my son for years and why you would taunt him, serious or not, this is what it has led too."   
  
The man sighed, "But I suppose you guys know more about all of this Digimon world than I do. I can't have him taken to a professional because they will lock him up for sure... but something needs to be done." with that, Mr. Motomiya walked away. Koushiro Sat back down. He felt bad about everything.   
  
A doctor came through the large double doors, catching everyone's attention, "Are you with Daisuke Motomiya?"  
  
"Yes we are. Is he alright? Can I see my son?" he asked.  
  
The man looked at the clipboard that he had in his hand, "Yes, but only two at a time. He is still unconscious. He has some cuts and bruises, some pretty bad road rash, and his shoulder was dislocated, but we popped it back. His right wrist is sprung and he needed about 10 stitches on his leg, he must have fallen on some glass or something. Um, we did x-rays to see if he had a concussion, but nothing showed up, just some bruising. Overall, he should be fine. We are gonna keep him overnight, maybe two days at best. I must say, that boy is very fortunate, I have seen people go through less and not make it." The doctor stepped aside, "He is in room 12."

 

Ken felt his heart drop into his stomach and he had to sit back down in his chair. Hearing Mr. Motomiya express disappointment in him wasn't easy to take, because he really wanted his friend's family to approve of him. Not that he didn't expect this, it really had been his own fault.  
  
On top of that now Taichi and Koushiro probably figured out that he and Daisuke had a "thing" going on, which was something else he'd been trying to keep secret. Would they be disgusted with him? And then of course there was the fact that Daisuke's dad was going to go in there and confront him on all of this, and the cinnamon haired boy would know exactly who had informed him... so Daisuke very well may be incredibly pissed off at him in a few minutes.  
  
Once Mr. Motomiya and Jun disappeared into the hospital room Taichi turned around to face Ken. "So, a relationship?"  
  
"It's... not exactly a relationship..." Ken said quietly, staring down at the floor. Taichi could tell that he was nervous about the topic right away. Man, Ken needed some serious cheering up!  
  
"Hey don't even worry about it." Taichi sat down next to the dark haired teen and leaned against the wall as he'd done before. "I'm actually bisexual myself but I really haven't told too many people. The guy I like, that made me realize I was bi, is totally straight though... so if anything you're super lucky. I totally knew you and Daisuke had something going on though." Taichi winked at Ken and gave him a nudge with his elbow.  
  
Ken looked up at him and smiled slightly, the gesture appreciated.

 

Koushiro sat back and watched Jun and Mr. Motomiya walk through the double door. Then, his attention had turned back to Ken. The fact that Daisuke's father had confirmed what he had suspected was nothing too shocking. He figured that Taichi being open with the teen about himself seemed to be somewhat comforting. What Taichi said was indeed true. Ken was lucky to have the person he liked also like him back.   
  
Koushiro smiled at him, "I agree with Taichi-san. You are lucky to have Daisuke-san, just as he is just as lucky to have you. I had some suspicions about you two for a while and..." he trailed off for a moment. There was a small silence when he realized that Taichi and Ken seemed to be waiting on him to finish. The redhead chuckled, "Sorry, I was just thinking how amazing it would be to have what you two have. Though Daisuke-san can be, I would assume, stressful and concerning. I find that even though you didn't say anything about his problems to anyone, it means that you care enough to keep his secret and try to help him to be very admirable."  
  
Koushiro sighed, "By the way, I know that they will probably be in there for a while. You guys want anything from the drink machine?"

 

Taichi could tell that Koushiro was thinking about whoever it was he had feelings for when he'd said all of that to Ken just now, and his curiosity was sparked. He knew it was best to stay quiet though because he and Koushiro weren't alone... but ugh! Who was it?! And why did he care so much anyway? He just... did.  
  
"I'll have whatever." Taichi pondered about the vending machine question. "You'd probably know what I want better than I do anyway." Taichi laughed and gave his best friend a small smirk. He'd always been indecisive with things like that.  
  
"Water is fine." Ken answered as well, and was surprised that Koushiro's words had not caused him to blush. Apparently his nerves were sobering him enough not to, for once.  
  
Koushiro left and came back, and the group sat in relative silence as they waited.

 

 

Daisuke's eyes opened, not knowing exactly what was going on or where he was. ‘ _Where am...?’_ he thought, looking around at his arms to see himself hooked into an IV and oxygen nose piece in his nose. When he tried to sit up was when he had been hit with the most excruciating pain he had ever experienced, causing him to cry out in pain.   
  
"Daisuke! Don't move!" a voice called from the opposite side of the room. He recognized the voice immediately as his sister, who then hurried to his side, "Oh thank god you are okay!" He could see tears tugging at the corners of her eyes, "Jun? What's going on?" he asked.   
  
Another, deeper, voice came from behind her, "You are in the hospital, Daisuke." A chill ran down the cinnamon haired teen's spine. He gritted his teeth and turned to his other side to see his father standing there. It was then that he noticed that out of his right eye he was having trouble seeing. "Do you know why you are here son?"   
  
Daisuke thought hard about it. He remembered going out with Taichi, Koushiro, and Ken. He remembered Taichi picking at him over soccer. He remembered it being windy...really windy... and screaming and then black. "I don't remember a whole l—,” he was cut off by, "IT'S BECAUSE YOU WERE ON THE ROOF OF A FUCKING CAR!" his sister screamed, making his head pound and ears ring, "Oww..oh.... yeah," he looked at his father, waiting for him to knock the shit out of him, but it never came.  
  
" _'Oh yeah'_ is all you can say? Daisuke you could have been killed! Have you lost your damn mind?!" his father shouted, but before Daisuke could say anything he father continued, "Don't even try to come up with an excuse."  
  
Daisuke sighed and shook his head. Yeah, he was pretty sure by now everything was in the open. Though he wished it wasn't, he knew Ken had to say something, "Where is mom?"   
  
"She's still at work, she was in a meeting. I left several voicemails. Anyways, Daisuke I don't know much about what used to go on with you and your friends in that Digimon World, but I don't understand why you would want to relive that time."  
  
With that said, it felt like his father just pulled out a knife and stabbed him. ‘ _Why?’_ he asked himself, ‘ _Because of V-mon. I miss V-mon. Something you will never understand...’_   
  
"I think I need to lay down. My head hurts and my eye is acting weird. Where are the others?" he asked. Jun cocked her head to the side. She knew when her brother was done talking and their father speaking about that world seemed to upset him. "Daisuke, we worry about you. I just wish you would have told us if something was wrong," she said, not getting a response, "They are in the waiting room."

It wasn't until Daisuke's family had left that he actually had a chance to get a good look at himself. He had bandages everywhere: on his legs and arms, and also on his cheek. Most of which he could see blood coming through. He knew that he must have hit his head because he blacked out and also from a splitting headache that didn't want to subside and also that his right eye couldn't seem to stay focused. On his right arm, around his wrist, was a splint of some kind. Did he break it? It hurt, but not like a break. Maybe they were giving him something to dull the pain.   
  
He picked at the bandage on his left arm trying to see what was underneath it. He could see the obvious angry dark red, almost purplish bruise that surrounded it.

Ken wasn't sure how much time passed before the Motomiya's left the room with the doctor right behind them. Mr. Motomiya looked somber and Ken felt as though it was his own fault... he'd really caused a lot more trouble than he'd prevented in all of this, hadn't he?  
  
"Do the three of you wish to see him now?"  
  
"Yes!" Ken replied immediately to the doctor's question, walking quickly into his best friend's hospital room. However, once he'd entered the room and spotted his friend, he felt himself stop in his tracks at the boy's injuries. He also felt a strain between them that tugged at his heart. Would Daisuke be furious with him or would he understand why he had to tell everyone the truth?  
  
"Hey man!" Taichi continued past Ken to the side of Daisuke's bed, speaking cheerfully to the younger goggle boy. Ken's face was hidden behind his hair as he reached the bedside second, even though he'd entered the room first. "How ya feelin'?" Taichi asked and gave the boy a big grin.

He heard the door to his room open; he immediately stopped picking at the bandages in case it was a doctor.  
  
He couldn't help, but feel a mixture of emotions when he saw that it was his friends entering the room. The look on Ken's face tore into him. His friend was obviously badly hurt by the sight of him. He knew that he had indeed crossed the line this time. However, Daisuke never dreamed everything was going to happen the way it did, but it never occurred that he would ever try to do something of this nature in the first place. He just kind of... did it. But he was still happy to see them.  
  
Taichi joined him at his bedside as did the others in suit, "Hey guys..." he said, his voice just above a whisper.   
  
Koushiro pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down, "How are you feeling Daisuke-san?" he asked.  
  
"I'm not sure. I can't see anything, it's all bandaged up and I can't see too well from my right eye," he replied, trying to sit up, only to have a shock wave of pain wash over him, causing him to cry out.  
  
Koushiro jumped at the outburst, "Daisuke-san, don't move! Jeez, are they giving you anything?"  
  
The cinnamon haired teen grunted trying to make himself comfortable again, "I'm not sure. If they aren't they need to and if they are I need them to step it up a notch."  
  
Koushiro shook his head, "By the way, you hit your head really hard, it may take time before you can see out of that eye like you used to. It looks a little dilated. Have they said anything?"  
  
Daisuke shook his head, "I haven't spoken to anyone. I woke up when Dad and Jun were here."  
  
Daisuke looked over at Ken, who remained silent, he figured he was still pissed at him for what he had done and could say he blamed him. He just didn't know where this was going to take them now, "So..." he trailed off for a moment, "there is obviously an elephant in the room here and I just wanted to let you guys know... I didn't mean for this to get out of control."

It was certainly true that there was a noticeable strain in the room, though Ken was pretty sure it was mostly between him and Daisuke than anything else. He wasn't upset at his friend, he was really just upset at himself. He was also sure that Daisuke was pissed off at him too... which was making it hard for Ken to say anything.  
  
"It's okay Daisuke, Ken told us what's going on," Taichi explained and crossed his arms, "I don't know why you didn't tell us sooner, you know we would have understood and just tried to help you."  
  
"I'm sorry Daisuke..." Ken trailed off and looked down at his hands, suddenly noticing the fact that he had very little energy anymore, "But they deserved to know."  
  
"Stop _apologizing_ Ken, you're driving me nuts!" Taichi sighed and looked back and forth between Daisuke and Ken. "Come on, I'm sure Daisuke understands why you had to tell us. I can't believe I had to find out like this in the first place!" Taichi made sure to laugh so that everyone would know he was messing around.  
  
"I know, I just..." Ken sighed and tried to look at his best friend finally. All of his injuries looked like they'd heal up quickly enough, they weren't major or anything. It still felt like his fault that they were there at all though.  
  
Taichi once again looked between Daisuke and Ken, finding himself sigh a bit. "Hey so, Koushiro and I will leave you two alone for a bit, okay?"  
  
"Huh?" Ken asked, surprised that he wanted to leave already.  
  
"Nothing personal, but I think you guys need to talk about something more than Koushiro or I do." Taichi responded as tactfully as he could, "I just wanted to make sure Daisuke wasn't like, dead or something. I think he'll be alright, so we'll just come back later. Hey! Koushiro, we should go get some food still and bring it back here. I bet hospital food tastes like crap."

Koushiro agreed with Taichi completely. He knew that there was some obvious tension between the two before him. He could also see that both Ken and Daisuke seemed to be holding back what they wanted to say due to the fact Taichi and himself were present. The redhead came to his feet, "Yeah, you guys need to talk. So, we'll just go get some food." He smiled and gave Ken an encouraging pat on his back, letting him know that things will be alright.   
  
"Thanks guys," Daisuke said with a smile.  
  
"And Daisuke," Koushiro said, gaining the teens attention, "you have a lot of people who love and care about you, please do not take that for granted and take care. We'll be back shortly." With that the redhead exited the room. He became aware that he was slightly envious of what the cinnamon haired teen had with Ken. Koushiro also realized he shouldn't have said that one part. Taichi was already giving him suspicious looks already and knew that once they were alone the brunet wouldn't told back in asking him questions.  
  
Daisuke cocked his head to the side at that last part. Did Koushiro know about Ken and himself? Well, that wouldn't be the first thing that's been put out in the open today. He pushed those thoughts out of his head and nodded.   
  
The injured teen watched his friends leave and turned his attention back to his friend beside him. There was a silence between them that lasted for what seemed like hours, but was cut short when Daisuke tried to lean up. He cried out as sharp pains shot in all directions through his body, but he still managed to sit up with the help of the guard rails. ‘ _Oh man... I wonder how long this soreness will last_ ,’ he thought.  
  
He turned to Ken who seemed to have this mixture of emotions scattered on his face. "I'm so sorry, Ken," he said, his voice just above a whisper and beginning to crack, "I didn't mean to put you through this," he paused, taking in a deep, shaky breath, "I can understand if you hate my guts right now. I can..." he trailed off, finding it harder to look at the slender teen. So, he decided to look straight ahead.   
  
When Ken didn't say anything, Daisuke turned to him, and saw that he was no longer looking at him, "I just didn't think it would go this far..."

The moment Daisuke had cried out in pain, Ken reached forward to help him. His friend managed to pull himself upright on his own though, and he didn't seem to be in as much pain now. Hopefully that would last a while...  
  
"Hate your guts?" Ken questioned, confusion written on his face after his friend had finished speaking. "I don't hate you at all Daisuke, I actually thought you hated me for telling your secret. I expected you to yell at me or something..."  
  
Ken looked back down at his hands, fiddling around with his thumbs. He really didn't know what to say... he'd expected Daisuke to be angry with him and while he was very glad that he didn't seem to be at all, it didn't help him break this awkwardness between them.  
  
"I didn't think it would go this far either." Ken sighed and pulled the chair on the other side of the room over to the side of his friend's hospital bed. "I mean..." Ken started, sitting down in the chair. "I figured you'd get more of those urges here and there, but I didn't expect for you to do something that would threaten your life like this."  
  
Ken didn't want to make his friend feel worse, and found himself pausing. "I'm not angry though. I just... I'm sorry that I wasn't able to help you at all. Maybe Taichi can find a way to make this better. All I did was fail you when it mattered the most, that's for sure..."  
  
Ken fought back the urge to tear up, but he wasn't able to feel any less shitty.

Daisuke didn't know, at the moment, how he felt about his secret being out. He was glad it was, but also hoped it wouldn't be. He knew now it was going to be a while before he could accept the fact it was indeed out though, "No, I'm not mad," he laughed wryly, "I don't expect you to keep such a thing secret seeing the position I am in now. It would be nearly impossible."  
  
Daisuke reached out and grabbed Ken's hand, pulling him closer. He could see that he was fighting the urge to break down, Daisuke was also himself, “You didn't fail me and have no reason to apologize. You are a true friend, Ken," tears began to form in his eyes, despite the fact he was fighting them with all his might. The cinnamon haired teen leaned forward and captured Ken's lips in a passionate kiss, though it hurt him to lean in any way.  
  
He broke the kiss short and sat back, "So, I meant to ask sooner, but what did Koushiro mean when he told me not to take something for granted... or something like that?"

Ken was quite relieved to hear that Daisuke wasn't angry with him. He'd expected stiff words at least, if not the outright cold shoulder for a while. After how touchy his friend had been on the topic in general so far, it was a nice surprise.  
  
Not quite as surprising though, as when his friend leaned in to kiss him. It wasn't a small kiss either, and made Ken feel a bit light headed when the other boy pulled away.  
  
Had Daisuke just asked him a question? Uh... Ken blinked a few times. "O-Oh!" When he realized what it had been he felt a blush creep up his cheeks. "R-Right, that. Well they kind of figured out that we're together. Apparently I made it really obvious..."  
  
Ken sighed and thought for a moment. "I'm sure Taichi will go and tell everyone he knows about it, which I guess I don't mind. I don't think the others will care. Well... except for Miyako and Iori... they won't like it one bit most likely."

 

Koushiro seemed a bit... envious of them, as though he might have feelings for someone that he didn't think liked him back. That fact alone was surprising enough, as Koushiro had never seemed even remotely interested in romance. It was obvious that Mimi liked him, but the way he always brushed her off, and anyone else who'd shown interest... well, it was nice to see that he did have interest in someone.  
  
"Hey." Ken said quietly, looking back over at Daisuke. "I'm sorry that I haven't been ready for us to be fully together... I think I'm almost ready. I'll tell my dad soon, and then I promise after that it'll be official." Ken gave his friend a soft smile, trying to assure his words.

 

            Daisuke sighed as he heard Ken speak of their relationship. He knew that he couldn't rush his friend to be ready to be with him, but the wait seemed to be worse than keeping it a secret. He knew Ken wasn't like him and could jump into something and explain later, but he wanted to be happy with him. Therefore the wait seemed to be agonizingly worth it, "I don't give two shit about what Miyako and Iori think. If they are disgusted by our happiness then fuck them," Daisuke said bitterly.  
  
"I know Miyako likes you. Anyone with eyes could see that. What are you gonna do when she finds out her friend has whisked away with her "One True Love", who just happens to be gay?" he asked, not really expecting an answer.   
  
Just then a doctor enters the room, "Good afternoon, Mr. Motomiya." The doctor looked over to Ken, "How are you?," then back to Daisuke, "I'm Dr. Kiguya and I was just going to let you know that we are going to be moving you up to your room, now."  
  
"So I take it that there isn't a chance for me going home today," he said with slight disappointment, though he knew it was a long stretch that he would.  
  
"I'm sorry, it would be best for you to stay a day or two for us to make sure the injury on your head isn't worse than it appears."  
  
Daisuke grunted as he sat back up, and with Ken's help this time, it was less painful, "Thank you, love," he said in Ken's direction, "So, what exactly is wrong with me? I mean did I get a concussion? Because my eye is acting weird."  
  
The doctor walked over to the cinnamon haired teen and pulled a flash light from his pocket, "Look at me," he instructed and shined the light back and forth into Daisuke's eyes, checking their dilation, "Hmm... it's from where you hit your head," he turned the flash light off, returning it to his pocket, "You don't have a concussion, but you do have quite extensive bruising to the skull though and that can be just as bad in terms of hemorrhaging and swelling to the brain, so that is why we have decided to keep you. When you have trauma to the head like that it can make your vision fuzzy for a few days or as long as a few weeks."   
  
Daisuke groaned, "That's wonderful. My sister told me I had a dislocated shoulder and some stitches?"  
  
The doctor nodded, "Yeah, you were pretty banged up when you came in here. I must say you are a lucky guy. Now," he pulled out his chart, "we will be giving you some pain medication, so you shouldn't have any trouble resting. So, when we get you to your room the doctor and nurse will come to see you and you should be all set. You will be in room 412. Good day to you both."  
  
"Thank you," he said, looking back over to Ken, "Well, this is fan-fucking-tastic!"

 

            Ken thought about his friend's question, and he knew that Miyako would take it badly. He didn't know exactly what she would do or say, but no matter what it was, it would involve a lot of upset. Iori, well, he'd probably just find it disgusting and be disappointed in them.  
  
Before Ken could really form a response the doctor came in, and after hearing his conversation with Daisuke, he was happy to hear that he didn't have a concussion. He wasn't too happy to hear about the possible brain swelling though... no, he wasn't going to freak out about it. The doctor seemed to believe that Daisuke would come out fine, so he was sure things would be okay.  
  
He was also happy to see the doctor not react to the "Thank you, love" comment. Ken sighed, he really was too afraid of all this... Daisuke was just so strong and courageous. He really didn't care at all if everyone in the world knew and hated it, as long as they were happy that's what counted. Even if it was hard, Ken was going to try his best to think that way. You should always try something at least once, right?  
  
"Well at least Taichi and Koushiro are bringing us back food, right?" Ken smiled and shrugged in response to his friend. It would suck to have Daisuke in the hospital for so long, but it couldn't be helped.

 

 

            "Let's see..." Taichi pondered as he looked at the Teriyaki menu in front of him. He was pretty sure everyone liked chicken. After all, who didn't like it? It was like, the universal meat or something! Sure some people were vegetarians, but other than them you just couldn't go wrong with chicken when you didn't know what someone else liked.  
  
"Yakisoba for me please." Taichi settled on; you could like other things more than chicken of course. "And two chicken teriyaki combos for my buddies in the hospital."  
  
The lady behind the counter nodded and wrote down their orders, then looked over at Koushiro. "And for you?" She asked the redhead.  
  
Taichi wanted to ask his friend about the comments he'd made in the hospital, but he was waiting for the right time to do so. Maybe while they were heading back to the hospital he'd bring it up.

 

The redhead sighed as he looked over the menu. He was starving, but for some reason felt like at the moment that he couldn't eat. He knew Taichi, on the other hand, would have no problem eating. He knew his friend would never pass up a free meal, "Um," he paused, "I suppose I will have whatever he is having."  
  
The woman nodded at them after writing down his order and walked away. Koushiro leaned against the counter. Wow, he had just ordered whatever bucket of grease Taichi had ordered. This made the younger of the two chuckle softly as he turned his attention to the brunet beside him, "So, today was quite... eventful. I suppose this wasn't the kind of adventure you had in mind when we left earlier. Oh, do you think we should tell the others?"  
  
Koushiro noticed Taichi had been fairly quiet since they had left the hospital. He knew the brunet had something on his mind as his did his own. He knew Taichi wasn't the brightest, but he wasn't stupid. He knew very well that the other had caught what he had said earlier and figured that he was holding back from asking him.   
  
Koushiro sighed, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, "A penny for your thoughts?"

 

            Taichi raised an eyebrow at his friend's order choice. Koushiro was actually going to trust that the food he got was edible by Izumi-Standards? Man, the redhead must be really exhausted or something!  
  
"Hmm..." Taichi pondered both of the questions that the other boy had asked as he made his way over to the counter where one picked up their to-go food. He didn't respond right away, trying to figure out where and how he should ask Koushiro the question he was holding back. Well he knew one thing for sure; he didn't want to bring it up in a public place. That was just asking for denial and topic changes.  
  
Eventually the bag containing all four of their orders arrived, and they made their way back to the car. Taichi set the food down on the floor in the back seat, deciding they'd just all eat together with Daisuke and Ken in the hospital room once they got back.  
  
Once Koushiro was in the passenger seat, Taichi sighed. "Alright so, to answer your first question... I don't think we should tell the others just yet. If we do then they're all going to swarm him in the hospital and that's just gonna make him feel even shittier. So once he's out and doing fine again, then we can tell whoever we think can handle it."  
  
Taichi turned to face his friend. "As for your other question, when you were talking to Ken earlier... I just could tell that there was someone specific you were thinking of. I mean you were giving Ken general advice and stuff, about it being nice to have what they have, but it just seemed to me that there's someone you wish you had that _with_. I mean yeah, yeah, I know..." Taichi sighed and trailed off. "It's not really my business, why do I care, blah, blah, but as your best friend I just feel that I deserve to be told!"  
  
Taichi grinned and hoped it would be enough to keep Koushiro from getting irritated with him. "And besides..." he started up again, "After what happened with Yamato, I know how much it can suck to like someone who doesn't like you back. N-Not that I'm saying she doesn't like you!" Taichi rubbed the back of his head, hoping he hadn't put his foot in his mouth, "I just mean... don't hold it all in, ya know?"

 

            " _She_....?" the redhead said, cocking an eyebrow, without thinking, before clearing his throat, realizing Taichi was thinking he liked a girl. Koushiro grinned at hearing his friend's concerns for him, "Oh... that..." He remained silent for a moment to gather his thoughts. Taichi had a good eye on him he had to admit. The redhead did indeed have feelings for someone, but it was not a she. He couldn't bring himself to tell the brunet who it was either, it being his best friend.   
  
He couldn't tell him that for a long time he was harboring feelings for him, especially after all the events that happened today. How could he? It was only a short while ago that he thought that Daisuke was going to die. And even so, he thought that he had a pretty good poker face about it, but apparently not. Taichi pretty much hit the nail on the head.  
  
He sighed, "Well, I... don't really know how to be forward with subjects like that. I have never been that guy, you know that. I also know that every opportunity has a shelf life."  
  
Koushiro sat back in the seat, "I am sorry that things didn't work out with Yamato or Sora. It must be hard to see them together, but did you ever tell either of them how you felt before they started dating again?"

 

            "Well yeah there's a good time and place to tell HER, but why does there have to be a special time when you tell ME?" Taichi pouted, turning on the car.  
  
It was getting stuffy inside his car and he wanted the AC on. Problem was, the AC wouldn't get cold unless the car was moving. So they'd just start heading over to the hospital now and chat while he drove. It wasn't a long drive, but he had the feeling this wasn't going to be a long conversation either.  
  
"Well no, I never told either of them." Taichi pondered as he stopped for a red light. "But Sora knew, I know for a fact that she did. There was this time around Christmas that she was going to give Yamato a present and I showed up when she was about to confront him. I was just gonna say hi to Yama. Well, she got all flustered and embarrassed, like she was really awkward or something. She hadn't looked that way until she saw _me_ there. So I know she knew I liked her, she was just afraid that I'd get jealous and upset about the gift for Yamato."  
  
The light turned green and he started driving again. "Truthfully I was jealous and upset, but I didn't let her see that. I just kept a smile on my face and pushed her towards the door when she looked like she was going to back out. I mean if she likes him then... she likes him, that's just how it is. I just didn't expect him to like her _back_!"  
  
Taichi laughed and shook his head. "Pretty stupid of me to assume that, huh? So like a little bit later, I dunno how long maybe a day or so, I tried to confront Yamato about liking him. And he goes _'oh but let me tell you something really cool first! Sora and I are dating!'_ Yeah... I never bothered telling him after that. Made up some bullshit reason to leave and go home."

Koushiro scratched the back of his neck. Taichi was persistent about finding out who it is that Koushiro liked. He didn't really know how to answer the question without giving the answer away. The redhead wasn't sure why he couldn't just say it out loud like Taichi did, though he wanted too, "It's harder than it seems, but you definitely know who it is and that seems to make it harder to be honest about it," he explained, hoping Taichi would accept that as an answer.  
  
He listened as his friend explained why he never told Yamato or Sora he liked them and his reasons were plausible. Koushiro deep down had childish hopes of maybe one day he and Taichi would be together and could help each other in their own way and be happy. He wanted what Daisuke and Ken had. He thought it to be very heartwarming. However, if Koushiro didn't speak up soon, his chance with Taichi may, if it ever even existed, expire.   
  
"I'm sorry about Yamato and Sora. You did get hit with a double whammy there. But did you ever think it would open you up to other opportunities?" he asked sincerely, as they pulled into the hospital parking lot.

"Hmm..." Taichi pondered the question that his friend had just asked him. Open up other opportunities, huh? "Well, I've heard people say stuff like 'all things happen for a reason' or whatever. I guess both Sora and Yamato could have been wrong for me, so fate put them together instead. I... I guess I've been stewing on it for too long now..."  
  
Just how long had he been refusing to get over the Yamato and Sora thing anyway? He was still in school when it had happened, and now he was in college... yeah, Koushiro was probably right. He needed to move on and look at new opportunities. All of the time he'd spent and wasted being pissed off about losing Sora and Yamato to... each other... was just ensuring that he'd die single. And a virgin.  
  
"God I need to start dating again or something." Taichi sighed. He'd never had sex but he had kissed a girl or two before. Not that either of those experiences had worked out in the end, because both of them were only into him because he was a jock in college. He was on the school team, and he was good. As fun as it was it seemed to draw in the wrong kind of attention from girls though... he'd really only done it to get his mind off of Sora and Yamato anyway. It hadn't worked out though, and Taichi was pretty sure that was his own fault. He should have tried being with someone who he actually liked, and not just someone he knew liked him. That was settling.  
  
"Okay, okay, then just tell me this and I swear I'll shut the hell up." Taichi turned off the car in the parking space that he'd chosen, looking over at the boy in the passenger seat. "When are you going to tell this person that you like them? I mean, you're not just going to stay quiet forever until she marries some random other guy, are you? Look what happened to me!"  
  
Taichi gave a smirk and a small nudge with his elbow. Suddenly something occurred to him.  
  
"You know Koushiro, before you tell me anything, I just really feel I should tell you this..." Taichi went over all of his memories, making sure he felt certain in what he was about to say. Yeah, for sure... "You know that Mimi is like, totally attracted to you right? She'd move back to Japan and drop everything she's doing in America if you returned her feelings. So... if she's the one you like..."

 

            The redhead took in a deep inhale. He could feel swarms of butterflies running amuck in his stomach as he realized what he had said to his friend about opening up to more opportunities. When he said it he figured that it might have been taken another way, not the way he actually meant it to. A pink tent rose to his warm cheeks as he tried to come up with something to say that would make the situation slightly less awkward, but anything he said seemed to be making it worse.  
  
He wanted to help Taichi get over Yamato and Sora. He knew that he had dwelled on it enough and that he needed to move on, but it seemed that he harder he tried forgetting about it, the more he thought about it and resurfaced old feelings. This wasn't the first time he and Taichi had a conversation about the fact that Yamato and Sora ended up together, but it was the first time they had a conversation that he knew all the details too. He didn't mind the conversations because he knew that Taichi trusted him enough to talk to him, but he never really had put a lot into it before. He more or less let Taichi say what was bothering him and then they would do something that would distract the brunet from bringing it up again.  
  
When Koushiro felt he had calmed enough to think more clearly, after Taichi told him he would drop the subject, he was cut off by Taichi bringing up Mimi. Mimi was beautiful and had many good qualities about her and was even real sweet at times, but then she had some iffy qualities about her too. Koushiro thought about it for a moment. He knew at one point he had a small attraction to her when he was younger, when they first entered the Digital World for the first time, but as their adventures progressed, he found it fading and his attraction to Taichi growing more and more every day.   
  
She was a good friend, but just... not the one for him. He knew now that he could try anything with her and have her move back to Japan, leaving her life behind just to be in a relationship that he knew would never work, "No, it's not Mimi," he said reassuringly. It was then that he felt a sinking in his chest. He really didn't know what his type was. He didn't know if he and Taichi ended up together, how well they would go together, in which that would make Koushiro doubt he could ever be with anyone seeing how he never _really liked_ anyone else.  
  
The redhead shifted in the seat, to face Taichi a little bit better, "Look, Taichi as much as I would like Mimi to return to Japan, she isn't the one for me. And... now that I think about it," he said "I am kind of starting to think they aren’t my type either."

"Uh..." Taichi trailed off, blinking quite a few times. What was it that Koushiro had just said? About him not being sure if they were his type? 'They' what... they as in girls? Like... like girls in general? So girls weren't his type? "O-Oh!"  
  
Oh for the love of... had Koushiro been hinting this whole time that he was gay and Taichi was just too dense to see it? It wouldn't be the first time something like this had happened.  
  
"Ah hey man that's totally fine with me!" Taichi nudged his friend's shoulder and grinned, reaching into the back seat to pick up the bags of food. "I won't tell anyone about it, I mean that'd be pretty hypocritical of me if I did. You should tell this guy that you like him soon though, cuz he might start dating other people without you! And to be honest I'm really glad that you don't like Mimi. She's... she's a great girl and all but I dunno, you two are like polar opposites. And not in the way that Daisuke and Ken are. I just don't think it'd work out."  
  
Taichi could see why it worked out with Daisuke and Ken. They were opposites but they also had things in common, and that made the chemistry work. There was something to build from with them, but Koushiro and Mimi? They didn't even have one single thing to share together. She wasn't into computers or school or anything else Koushiro liked, and he wasn't into fashion and parties and all that stuff, so... there just wasn't anything there. Maybe the whole 'opposites attract' thing didn't work with TOTAL opposites.  
  
At least, that's how Taichi saw it. He was fine with a girl or guy who was very different from him, but not if they had literally NOTHING in common. That would just be boring!

 

Taichi opened the driver door and hopped out, locking the doors after Koushiro had gotten out too. After that he started heading towards the hospital again.

 

            Koushiro's eyes widened. Had he really just said that? Oh god... He shouldn't have said that... but, he did strangely, feel better. The redhead was very glad though that Taichi seemed to except it so easily. Sure, it was a shock to hear the brunette himself declare that he was bisexual, but in a way if seemed rather fitting for him. Koushiro on the other hand was always seen as some strange asexual being when he wasn't. He too had the same urges that every guy has and his computer didn't JUST contain school materials either.   
  
Koushiro didn't walk ahead just yet. He leaned against the hood of the vehicle. He was still shocked at what he had said. He actually, non-directly said that he was gay, for the first time in his life. His heart pounded still, thumping hard against the inner perimeter of his chest. All he could say as Taichi walked towards the hospital entrance, "Thank you."  
  
After briefly allowing himself to calm down, he followed his friend back into the building. He didn't really know where to go from here though he knew it was a start. He prayed that things wouldn't come more problematic down the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos/comments are not required, but always appreciated! Expect two chapters next week.


	8. Can Beauty Come Out of Ashes?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ken finally comes out to his father.

               Ken paced about his room, nerves wracking his system.  
  
Daisuke had been released from the hospital a few days ago and would be going back to school soon. He hadn't been feeling up to it yesterday when he'd first gotten home, and today he'd slept in really late because his dad thought it would be good for him. He probably could have gone, seeing as pretty much all of his injuries had healed by now, but resting after an injury could only help, so he wasn't going to complain too much. Daisuke had assured everyone that he'd be going to school tomorrow, though Ken had no idea what his friend intended to tell the other kids and his teachers about why he was in the hospital for so long. Most had already asked Ken all sorts of questions, but he had been firm in only saying that Daisuke was okay and when he returned to school, he could answer their questions; it wasn't appropriate for Ken to tell them.  
  
But all of that wasn't why Ken was so nervous. He'd decided that when Daisuke got out of the hospital that he'd tell his father about... them. He would finally just come out to his family, whatever may happen.  
  
_'It'll be okay Ken...'_ he thought nervously to himself, still pacing across the floor. _'Everyone has been supportive so far, even mom and Daisuke's whole family basically! Dad will be alright with it too, even if he's a bit disappointed I'm sure he'll come around. Daisuke's dad was disappointed but he still accepted it.'_  
  
His aunts and uncles and whatnot probably wouldn't ever come around, but his parents would stand up for him, he was sure of it. He had to be sure of it, otherwise he'd never be able to do this-  
  
"I'm home!"  
  
Ken was startled by his father's sudden announcement and the front door shutting, having been alone in a silent apartment for quite some time now. His mother was out getting groceries while his father had been at work, so now it was just him and his dad... alone. It... it was a good opportunity... his mom had offered to be there with him, but somehow he felt more embarrassed at the idea of having her there with him. He'd been able to get through to his mom by himself, so he could surely handle his dad, right?  
  
Ken took a deep breath and walked out into the hallway, and into the living room afterward. His dad was sitting on the couch watching what appeared to be pro soccer, eating some potato chips and dip. His father rarely ate such unhealthy snacks, but Ken couldn't help noticing that on the rare occasions which he did, it was always while his mother was gone. He couldn't blame him, mama had that frustrating ability to stare into your soul and make you feel awful for putting such terrible things into your body without having to even say a word about it.  
  
None of that was important to him right now though. He had... something to do. Something very important for both himself and Daisuke. Especially Daisuke, who had been waiting for him to chill out and just _be with him_ for… who even knew how long anymore now.  
  
"D-Dad?" Ken's voice was quiet and shaky, and was surely why his dad gave him such a strange look.  
  
"Uh, yeah Ken?"  
  
"I-I need to talk t-to you..." Ken sighed as his voice cracked and stuttered, sounding totally ridiculous.  
  
His father raised an eyebrow and picked up the remote, shutting off the TV and setting the snacks on the table away from him. He motioned for Ken to sit down next to him, and they faced each other on the couch.  
  
"I..." Ken could feel his resolve breaking. No, no, no! He had to do this, and he had to be brave or he'd end up chickening out and never doing it. "Dad there's something I've been needing to tell you."  
  
"Is everything alright Ken?" His father asked with worried eyes and Ken felt a bit calmer. His dad cared about him... everything would be alright. "Did something happen at school? Is Daisuke alright?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah everything is fine." Ken assured his father and began fiddling with his finger nails. "I just... there's something I haven't told you that I need to say. I've told mom already but... I mean, you both need to know."  
  
"Oh," His father said simply, still looking at him. "Well you know, if you want to change your college or something, I wouldn't mind. Your mother and I have been wondering if you'd end up trying to go to the same one as Daisuke and your other friends." His dad smiled and gave him a nudge, and Ken blinked. Oh, he thought he was talking about school...  
  
Ken had been accepted into just about every college he'd applied for, one of which being a tough, prestigious school that would certainly look the best on a resume, and another being the more basic college that all of his fellow younger Chosen friends were going to. It wasn't a bad school by any means, but it was no Tamachi Academy...  
  
"No dad, this isn't about that," Ken laughed a bit, if anything for his own sake, "I mean I still am considering going to Odaiba Community, but for now I'm still signed up with Tamachi Academy. I... I want to talk to you about something else."  
  
"Hmm, well I have no idea what it is then," His dad smiled still. "But go ahead, I'm listening."  
  
"A-Alright." Ken swallowed hard and felt himself start to sweat a bit, his voice catching in his throat. Why was this so much harder than it had been with his mother? "I... I've come to realize something about myself... and it really changes some stuff."  
  
His father just kept looking at him, waiting. Ken sighed and took a deep, slow breath.  
  
"Dad, remember when you asked me why I haven't been dating any girls?" Ken chose to start with, "And how I'm in High School already and still single, never kissed a girl, all that stuff?"  
  
"Yes." His dad laughed and nodded.  
  
"Well I... I-"  
  
"So you're finally dating a girl?" His father asked seriously, a hint of happiness present.  
  
"Not... not a girl..." Ken looked down at his hands, fiddling with his nails nervously. There was a bit of a silence, one that really engulfed the room in awkwardness.  
  
"So... you're still single then...?" His father's voice was total confusion, like he just genuinely did not understand. Seriously, was Ken going to have to just bluntly spit it all out? Couldn't he lightly hint and have that be enough for once?  
  
"No dad I'm not single, I'm seeing someone and... and I have kissed them... and this person isn't a girl."  
  
There, for the love of god, if that didn't get the point across to him then nothing other than _'I'm gay and I like to kiss boys dad!'_ would.  
  
Another silence, this time his father's eyes began widening. There, he understood. Now maybe they could-  
  
"Funny joke Ken."  
  
"U-Uh... what?" Ken blinked a few times, staring at his dad's face. "It's not a joke dad, I'm being totally serious. I'm..." Ken had intended to just say that he was gay, but the sudden change of expression on his father's face caused him to simply trail off into silence instead.  
  
"You're _gay_? Wait... _what_?! Ken, no you're not!"  
  
"D-Dad, just let me explain-"  
  
"No, I don't want to hear any of this!" His father stood up and raised his voice, face filled with anger. Ken felt his body freeze up, eyes widen in fear, and his breath catch in his throat. He'd never seen his dad look or act like this before, ever, not even once in his life. "You are _not_ gay, so you better wipe any of those thoughts out of your head _right now_! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"  
  
Tears tugged at Ken's eyes and he had to force himself to reply, his voice coming out very meek and scared. "Dad... sit down, please... we can talk this out and—"  
  
"No we can't talk this out! There's no discussion here, you are not gay and that's all there is to it!"  
  
"Would you let me speak?!" Ken finally stood up and shouted, though the furious expression on his dad's face at doing so made him look back down at the floor. "Mom was okay with it... s-so I don't understand why you can't even listen for a few seconds and let me—"  
  
"Who put these ideas in your head?"  
  
"How will you ever know if you don't let me finish a thought?!" Ken closed his eyes and shouted, fists clenched. "No one is putting any ideas in my head, it's been this way my whole life! I just don't like girls, I never have, no matter how much you want me to! The reason why I've never dated a girl isn't because I'm too shy, it's because they don't appeal to me at all! And Daisuke never told me to do anything, I chose to do everything that I've done and he—"  
  
"Daisuke?" His father cut him off again, "What have you gone and done with Daisuke?!"  
  
"W-We..." Ken felt tears roll down his cheeks finally. This was awful... this was worse than he'd even imagined, how was this happening? What was going to happen now? What should he say? This just couldn't be going so badly... it couldn't be...  
  
"How will you pass on the family name now?! You're going to end our whole line for another BOY?! This is disgusting! What am I going to tell grandpa, that there goes the whole Ichijouji family because my son decided kissing boys was more important to him?! Daisuke is horrible! I thought he was a good friend to you, but he's just brainwashing you into-"  
  
Ken suddenly felt something snap, and before he even realized it, he was shouting at the top of his lungs, "DON'T YOU DARE LOOK DOWN ON HIM! EVER! HE HAS DONE MORE FOR ME THAN YOU OR MOM PUT TOGETHER IN MY ENTIRE FUCKING LIFE! IF IT WEREN'T FOR HIM I WOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE RIGHT NOW, AND THIS IS HOW YOU THANK HIM?!"  
  
"K-Ken-chan...?"  
  
Both Ken and his father turned to the doorway to see Mrs. Ichijouji standing there, groceries in her hands and the most shocked expression on her face.  
  
"You actually approved of this?!" Mr. Ichijouji turned to his wife now, Ken's body shaking uncontrollably. "How could you Mira?! He's... he's doing sexual things with a BOY! And now he's swearing at his own father?!"  
  
"So what if he is?!" Mira set the groceries on the living room table roughly and hollered back at him, her face immediately filled with anger; another thing Ken had never seen before that he could recall. "And if there's any boy that I'd approve of him being with, it would be Daisuke! He saved our son's _life_ , Jiro! How can you sit here and deny that?! I'd swear at you too!"  
  
"Excuse me?!" Mr. Ichijouji shook his head and slammed his heel on the floor. "If Ken's going to be with Daisuke, then neither Ken _nor_ Daisuke are permitted near this household! And Daisuke isn't allowed around my son ever again no matter what!"  
  
"I hate you..." Ken sobbed, putting his face in his hands, emotions overwhelming him. " _I hate you_!"  
  
Before anyone could stop him or say anything else, Ken ran through the front door and out of the apartment, only his indoor slippers on his feet.  
  
The road hurt to run on with such flimsy protection. Indoor slippers really weren't meant for anything but, well, the indoors. It wasn't until Ken reached Daisuke's apartment door that he realized he didn't even have his phone or house keys with him. He had absolutely nothing, but he couldn't bear to be in that apartment another second.  
  
Tears still flowing down his face, sobs choking through his throat, and his body shaking uncontrollably, he banged on the door and prayed that his friend was home...

Daisuke laid lazily on the couch watching TV with a can of soda in his hand. He was exhausted from having to do exercises to work out his damaged muscles. It wasn't the actual working out that he had a problem with, it was doing it when he was already sore from the accident.   
  
He had been doing a lot better since he was released. Most of the bandages had been removed and the wounds were healing nicely, but his eye was still giving him a few problems, but not as much as before. The cinnamon haired teen chuckled as he thought about when his mother finally showed up at the hospital acting as if he were in traction or going to be a paraplegic for the rest of his life. After explaining everything to her, he could see that some of her worries subsided, though there was still a hint of it there that he could see today.   
  
He hated staying in the hospital. It was awful. Everyone says it's fun because you can eat whatever and be waited on hand and foot, but that simply wasn't the case. The hospital had him on a nasty diet of fish and rice and the doctors, nurses, and techs, would come in every so often to check in, but other than that he hardly ever saw anybody, well, except Ken. His Ken. The whole time he was there Ken hardly left his side. It was good to know that his friend cared enough to stick around like he did.   
  
Over his stay he actually began to get stares from the staff when Ken and he were together. When he would get bored out of his mind, the slender teen would get him into a wheelchair and walk him around the floor. He knew that the staff was staring at them, in fact one of the better techs, who seemed to not have any problem whatsoever with Ken and himself, would ask him how things were with them and talk about how adorable they were. At least he knew he had someone on his side.  
  
He wasn't sure how he was going to explain to everyone about what happened to him, that is unless they already knew. He wasn't quite sure since it had been a while that he spoke to any of them, but he was positive that he would be barraged with questions when he returned to school by the other Chosen Children.  
  
Daisuke grabbed the remote from the side table and began flipping hastily through the channels for something descent to watch, but the only thing on was some forensic shows, nature documentaries, and old women soap operas, "Gaaahh! There is nothing!" he whined as he through the remote onto the opposite end of the couch.   
  
He grudgingly came to his feet to find something to do. His parents were at work and even though Jun got off work shortly she was going out with some friends and would most likely be gone until late. Daisuke made his way back to his room and feeling almost as if he was in an isolation chamber and about to lose his mind. He had already checked his e-mails about five times already, and the internet just seemed boring.   
  
"Hmmm," he thought, placing his hand on his chin, "I suppose I could take a shower."  
  
He walked over to his drawer, settling on the idea, and pulled out a clean pair of clothes and made his way to the bathroom. He sat his clothes on the sink and slowly removed his shirt, which was more difficult due to his stiff shoulder, but before he got it off he heard someone pounding at the front door.   
  
Daisuke cocked an eyebrow, "Heh, yeah, just when I found something to do, now someone shows up," he muttered to himself, making his way to the front door, hearing the knocks becoming more frantic, "OK! Chill! I'm on my way!" he called to the door.   
  
When he opened the door the last thing he thought to see was Ken standing there with tears pouring from red, puffy eyes. His composure was off, he looked at his he had been running his fingers through his hair nonstop, his cheeks were flushed, and he was shaking uncontrollably.   
  
"Oh, my god! Ken! Are you ok!?" he asked wrapping his arms around his friend. Shortly after he pulled away and led him inside, "Ken, what happened?"

At first Daisuke had sounded upset at him banging on the door, but it hadn't stopped Ken from continuing. It wasn't often that he was so beside himself. He was pretty sure that he'd looked ridiculous while riding the train all the way over here, sniffling and rubbing tears from his eyes as he held onto the railing. He'd managed to hold it back a little bit while in public, but now that it was just him and Daisuke, he felt his entire composure break.  
  
He felt Daisuke's arms wrap around him in worry, and was disappointed when he pulled away and led him inside. He really needed a hug right now... but even so, he made a point of locking the bolt on Daisuke's door before being lead any further into the apartment; just in case his dad decided to chase after him or something.  
  
Once they were on the couch Ken curled up next to his friend and wrapped his arms around his waist, resting his head on the redhead's shoulder.  
  
"I-I tried... he... so bad... I think..." He could barely get any words out, so he just let himself cry some more. This was the worst thing that had ever happened to him, with the exception of becoming the Kaiser. That would always be the worst, but the fact that this was so bad that it was even comparable to that, was pretty damned terrible.  
  
Ken wasn't sure how long he cried, but he eventually started to calm down. Well, not calm down exactly, but maybe he could get some words out.  
  
"I told dad... about us..." Ken managed to get between gasps of air; the only way he could prevent it from turning into sobs again. "...and me being gay... and he screamed at me... insulted you... and kicked me out... Mom yelled at him but... but it didn't help..."  
  
Remembering it all again didn't help, and in fact did the opposite. He hugged Daisuke again and once again found himself crying into the other boy's shoulder.

 

Daisuke was baffled at what Ken was trying to tell him at first, not understanding a word that came out of the boy's mouth. It was then that Ken gave up trying to say anything at the moment and buried his face into Daisuke's shoulder. He just let Ken lay on him and cry. It had been years since he had seen him this shaken up and it tore his heart out to see him like this, making tears tug at his eyes as well. He wrapped his arms tightly around his slender frame as Ken's tears continued stained his shirt. Daisuke waited until Ken had calmed down enough to tell him what had happened.   
  
Hearing that Ken had actually told his father and then the reaction that he got wasn't at all what the cinnamon haired teen had expected. He figured that his father would have been very disappointed, more so than his own father, but not throw his only living son out because of who he was. What kind of human being does that? And insult him as well?  
  
Daisuke kept his cool about what happened for Ken's sake and brushed his hair out of his face, slightly rocking with him, and whispering calming words to him. Oh god how he wished that he was with him...  
  
He leaned down and placed a kiss on Ken's forehead, "I'm so sorry... I wish I could have been there with you... shhh... "  
  
They stayed like this for a while. For how long, Daisuke wasn't sure, but he was fine with it. Then a thought occurred to him, "I'm sure that my parents would have no problem with you staying here. Oh, Ken, this is just a thought, but do you think it is... safe for your mom? I mean, your dad's not going to go crazy on her for being on your side, is he?”

 

           "Safe for mom?" Ken blinked, the thought playing through his mind. Thinking about it helped him calm down considerably. "I... I just can't imagine my dad doing anything to her like that. I guess I couldn't imagine him disowning me either..."  
  
Tears welled up in his eyes again, but he tried to push them back. "I don't even have my phone to call her with." Ken suddenly realized, his eyes widening. "Or any of my clothes or my keys... or even my shoes." He looked down at his dirty indoor slippers and sighed, kicking them off towards the front door of the Motomiya's apartment. "I can't go back... but I want to make sure everything is okay... ugh, I don't have her cell phone memorized, only the house phone. If I called from your phone though he'd see Motomiya on the caller ID and..."  
  
Ken leaned against Daisuke again, but he wasn't crying anymore. He felt pretty damned depressed though. It was a similar feeling as when Osamu or Wormmon had died, or right after his defeat as the Kaiser. Feeling this way was awful... he never wanted to experience it again.  
  
No matter what though, he couldn't lose Daisuke. Just thinking about it hurt more than anything his dad had just said.  
  
"Dai..." Ken said quietly, lacing their fingers together. "I won't let him tear us apart. Whether we're together or just friends, it doesn't matter. He said I can't come back if we're together, and you can't come near the apartment ever again, well fine then. Losing my family is really hard but it's not as hard as if I had to lose you..."  
  
It was pretty ironic that he'd spent so much time not getting together with Daisuke because of what his family might think, when in the end, their disapproval hadn't been enough to make him leave Daisuke anyway. He may as well have just spit it out weeks ago.

 

            "Ken..." Daisuke's voice was small, he didn't really know what to say. He knew Ken loved his family and he felt bad because it was the fact that he wanted to be with him was the reason he would lose them. All he wanted was to be with his jogress partner, but now with the circumstances, it seems like a selfish move if he were to encourage this.  
  
"I don't want to lose you either... I'm so sorry that this happened, but I'm here now," he said, shifting his weight, "Look, we will figure something out. I hate seeing you like this." Daisuke leaned down and gave Ken a comforting kiss.   
  
He didn't want to pull away, but did, "I'll call my mom in a while and explain what happened, and maybe she can figure something out. Don't worry I know that she wouldn't have a think of sending you back after something like this. But maybe she could at least get a hold of your mom from her office and try to get you some clothes and shoes. I don't mind letting you borrow some if it takes some time."  
  
He leaned down and placed another kiss on Ken's lips, this time it held a bit more passion in it.

 

            "Mm..." Ken moaned softly into the kiss, closing his eyes and returning it with equal passion. He felt their mouths open and tongues start to play. His arms wrapped around his friend's neck and his fingers laced through the cinnamon colored hair.  
  
He needed this. He'd just been forced to decide between this and his family, and while he already knew he'd chosen correctly, feeling how nice this was only helped solidify the decision in his mind. It was also helping him forget the terrible things that had just happened, and that had been said to him. He didn't want to remember any of that right now, he just wanted Daisuke.  
  
Just like the last time they had kissed like this, his heart started to beat faster and his breaths came out in pants between kisses. How could anyone call this disgusting or wrong? No girl could make him feel this way...  
  
He felt his left arm slip down and wrap around his best friend's shoulder, his right hand still in the boy's hair.

 

            Daisuke felt shivers going down his spine as Ken's fingers danced around his neck, tangling in his hair. His heart began to beat faster as he pressed harder against Ken's lips, taking a big inhale through his nose. Daisuke's hand slipped around Ken's waist as his left hand soon slipping under the thin fabric of his shirt.  
  
His dark hand danced with a ghost of a touch over his pale skin just beneath his ribcage. The cinnamon haired teen could feel the tension and anguish melt again with each passing moment, each deepening movement. Daisuke broke away from the kiss and traveled his attention down to Ken's neck, placing small pecks along his collarbone.  
  
The encouraging moans expelling from deep within Ken's throat sent chills through Daisuke, making him want to hear more. He began to caress the area up and down Ken's side, earning another moan. He took this opportunity to dive back into another deep passionate kiss.

 

            His head was pretty much spinning through a whirl of pleasure by now. Feeling Daisuke's hands slide against his skin underneath his shirt made it hard to keep any real coherent thoughts in his head from turning into mush. He melted at the contact, and when Daisuke began kissing his neck he felt shivers tingle all throughout his skin.  
  
He couldn't stop himself from moaning as the other boy pushed their lips back together in another deep kiss. Ken felt his own hands travel up the dark skinned boy's stomach underneath his shirt, feeling the lightly toned muscles underneath.  
  
"D-Dai-chan..." Ken moaned softly, having pulled away to take a breath, and then pushed their lips back together. He tugged at the boy's shirt until it was off, and thrown into an untidy pile on the floor somewhere. He really didn't care where it was. The boy's skin was so warm, and he could feel Daisuke's heart beating just as quickly as his was.  
  
In fact, they were beating at the same time, as their hearts always did.  
  
It was then that Ken realized the uh... condition he was in, and a blush crept up his cheeks. He pulled away and cleared his throat, fiddling with his hands. "S-Sorry..." He whispered, though his heart had not stilled in the slightest, nor had his desire to keep going. "What if your family shows up or something?"

 

            Daisuke felt a slight disappointment as Ken pulled away. His shirt was now gone and he was rather hot and bothered at the moment. His breath was labored, his face flushed, and his body was slightly trembling, but Ken did have a point, what if they walked in? He didn't even know what time it was at the moment, but then again, he didn't really care.   
  
Daisuke cleared his throat, "U-uhmm.. heh, do you want to stop?" he asked anxiously, praying that his jogress partner would say 'no'. He wanted to continue and his current state was more than enough to prove it.   
  
"If not... we could..." he trailed off a bit, leaning in to place another kiss on Ken's lips, "we can always go to my room... ya know, just to be safe..." saying this made his face glow brighter.  
  
Daisuke didn't really wait for an answer before leaning back in and pressing into, yet another, hungry kiss. He bit playfully down on the slender teen's lower lip, trying to persuade him into wanting to continue. The cinnamon haired teen pressed his palms again Ken's crest, allowing them to roam freely, earning in-distinctive and half-formed words from him. Daisuke slipped his tongue back into the other's mouth, taking in his intoxicating essence again, attempting to progress their passionate play.   
  
The cinnamon haired teen smiled as he felt Ken press into his touch. Daisuke felt his heart skip a beat as he heard his friend's moaning into his mouth. His dark hands ran up the indigo haired teen's chest and into his hair where they tangled into the soft locks.  
  
How could someone call this an abomination? How could someone say that this love is wrong in any way or disgusting? Daisuke's heart rattled against his ribcage as he repositioned himself to where he and Ken where now facing each other and their chests pressed firmly together. Daisuke's tongue slid along the sides of Ken's, exploring every inch, every centimeter, of the hot interior. Though he didn't want to part, he did, panting vigorously. He wanted to go further. He wanted all of him. He looked into his friend, no, his lover's, beautiful eyes, "Would you want to go to my room?" he asked with a husky voice.  
  
He would be a liar if he were to say that he wasn't nervous about this. Not in a regretful way, but more like he had been anticipating this moment for some time now and now that it is just within his grasp it couldn't help, but feel a bit nervous about it. However, this didn't make him any less ready for it.

 

          Every time the other boy pulled away made Ken feel incredibly disappointed. It didn't last long though, as the offer of going to Daisuke's bedroom came up. His bedroom... where they'd be alone to continue and most likely go all the way...  
  
Ken felt a hot blush form on his cheeks and his eyes move down to his trembling hands. Before he could do much else though, the other boy had reconnected their lips in another passionate kiss. His mind melted, and he found himself forgetting what they had just been talking about. He found himself mumbling, trying to say that he wanted to go to his room but he wasn't able to get the words out.  
  
Suddenly they parted again, and Daisuke looked him straight in the eyes, asking if he wanted to go to his room. Ken tried to gather his thoughts, not really caring about much anymore. His previous fears of going this far with the other boy and of getting walked in on and... all that crap, just seemed so much less significant now.  
  
"Dai..." Ken panted, his whole body tingling and his arms shaking a bit. "Please... I..." his voice was quiet, and filled with desire. "I love you... I want you..."  
  
Things became a bit of a whirl after that, and all he was really aware of was being pushed onto the redhead's mattress roughly. The other boy's assertiveness excited him more than he'd ever experience, and he vaguely recalled stumbling down the hallway, making out fiercely.  
  
Ken pulled Daisuke over top of him, their bodies pressed together with himself underneath. He moaned loudly and gasped as their hips ground together, and the desire to remove the rest of their clothing tugged loudly at his mind. His chest thrust upward into the dark skinned boy's.  
  
"D-Dai-chan... please..." Ken begged, breathing quickly and not realizing that he was calling the other boy by such an affectionate pet name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to end it there, but we feel that since some people don't care to read sex that it would be best to put it in a separate, optional chapter.


	9. Let Beauty Come Out of Ashes (continuation of ch8)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!: This chapter is purely sex! Like, SO MUCH SEX! It is an optional chapter. If you choose to skip this chapter, there will be a short summary with any important details in the next chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have been warned.

Everything happened so fast, but after Daisuke was given the ok to continue, there was no stopping him now. His instincts had kicked in and before he could register it they were clumsily, and fiercely dancing their way down the hallway, occasionally crashing into the wall before, what seemed like forever, making it to the bedroom. This time Daisuke made sure they wouldn't have any interruptions and locked the door after slamming it shut.  
  
He reconnected with Ken as they collided onto the bed, Daisuke pulled away and began to attack his lover's neck. His jogress partner's breathy, sultry calls and the _way_ he moaned his name, sent shivers through Daisuke's body. He ran his tongue over the hot, moist skin by his collar bone. Ken's upward thrust of the hips caught the cinnamon haired teen off-guard, "O-o-oh god!" he moaned into Ken's neck, feeling shocks of ecstasy course through him.  
  
These clothes! Why are they wearing them!? They had to go now. Daisuke pulled away for a moment to peel off Ken's shirt, before returning to his neck. Though he was well aware that many marks would show up later, it was doubtful either of them really cared at the moment. Daisuke continued his attack on the indigo haired teen's neck, working his way down to his chest, he blindly worked at getting their clothes off.  
  
Again, Ken's hip rose, pressing teasingly into Daisuke's, earning another moan from the darker teen. He took Ken's nipple into his mouth, circling the aroused nub slowly, earning some breathy moans, which made Daisuke want to hear more. He met Ken's hips half way, grounded into his pelvis, sending courses of pleasure throughout both of their bodies, "Oh fuck!" he moaned. He shifted slightly, allowing himself better access where he then slipped his hand into Ken's pants, grasping his length, massaging him slowly.  
  
He captured his lover's lips in a sloppy kiss, allowing Ken to moan into his mouth. He smiled, feeling the other bucking his hips into his touch. He didn't say it out loud, but by what he was feeling at the moment he was rather impressed. He just wanted more.  
  
Daisuke parted from Ken, "I love you, Ken... so much," he said, trailing kisses down his chest, abdomen and making slower, teasing strides where Ken was obviously wanting attention. Daisuke stood for a moment and finished removing his pants, leaving the lighter teen in all his glory. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. He returned for one last kiss before making his way back between Ken's legs, taking the swollen head into his mouth.

 

"L-Love... y-you too..." Ken panted and gripped the boy's cinnamon hair as he made his way downward, leaving trails of kisses all over him. The way his boyfriend slowed his hand movements and teased him was agonizing, and Ken gripped harder at his hair. Suddenly he was naked, and his friend was moving into position to...  
  
Oh god... Ken felt himself shiver with anticipation and grip the boy's hair again. His hands were shaking, and the moment the boy's mouth went over the head and downward, he did far more than moan.  
  
"A-Ah...!" Ken cried out as he scraped his right leg down the mattress, throwing his head back. This was a hundred times better than anything he could do with his hand. Even when his friend had simply used his hand on him, it was significantly better than using his own, and it's not like he'd really done anything differently.  
  
His friend moved back up and then all the way down again, taking the whole length into his mouth. The pressure he created with his mouth was intense, and Ken gasped again. "D-Dai... sh-shit... nng!"  
  
He couldn't keep quiet anymore. He'd been trying to suppress his moans up until now, as they were in an apartment with neighbors and all. But he really didn't care anymore, and in fact was starting to forget about them entirely. "Oh god..." Ken gripped the boy's hair hard and used it to pull his head down, making sure not to actually hurt him.  
  
Ken bucked his hips upward into his friend's mouth, the hot, warm saliva setting his whole body on fire. It seemed like the more he moaned and thrust upward, pulling his friend's head down onto him, the harder the redhead sucked.  
  
Ken realized that he was getting close to his peak. He held out as long as he could, which felt like quite a bit longer than he was expecting. It just felt so good that he didn't want it to end... so when he was getting close enough that it might happen any second, he pushed the boys head up and off of him.  
  
"D-Dai... I... I don't want to come yet... I want more of this..." Ken managed to pant, pulling his friend back down onto him and kissing him firmly. He didn't really care if the boy's mouth had just been... well all over him. Somehow that made it kinkier. He felt his body calm a bit, enough that he wasn't as close but was still shivering with pleasure.

 

Daisuke to so entranced by the taste of his lover and echos of his rather loud encouraging calls, he hadn't realized how close the other actually was until he was pushed off. _He wants more..._ Daisuke thought with a devilish grin spreading across his lips. It was actually a bit of a shock that Ken still kissed him even after what he had been doing, but it made him all the more appealing. He broke the kiss short and back away, coming to his feet, "Calm down, love," he whispered.  
  
Daisuke left a hot and bothered Ken on the bed as he made his way over to his dresser. He came back after retrieving a small bottle of lubricant. As he made his way back over he wasted no time removing the rest of his own clothing and crawled back onto the bed, over Ken, and connected lips with him. He parted from his lover once again and repositioned himself, allowing Ken's leg to lie limply over his, giving him a better access to his goal.  
  
He opened the bottle and coated his fingers in a nice thick layer before leaning forward locking lips again, "Ken... I-I love you so much..." he said into Ken's ear then running his tongue along the outer shell, "I want you to feel good..."  
  
Daisuke had no need to spread Ken's legs anymore since he clearly was wanting him to continue and did it himself, "Just relax," he said as he inserted a single digit into the tight ring of muscle. This made Ken's back arch, smashing their lips together once more and the cinnamon haired teen moved in and out of him. With his other hand tangling into Ken's hair, he inserted another digit, feeling the tense muscle begin to loosen.  
  
Ken's actions were probably one of the hottest things Daisuke had ever seen in his life, the way his back arched, his fierce kisses, and the way he moaned loudly into Daisuke's mouth with each sensual touch. That alone made the darker teen almost lose it. As Daisuke began to scissor his fingers, going in deeper each time, he whispered as he parted for a moment to breath, "P-please touch me," he begged.

 

"Dai...!" Ken whimpered, throwing his head back and clutching the sheet with his right hand. He gasped and moaned louder than ever, desperate for more. Hearing the redhead beg to be touched was making it harder to keep himself from going over the edge, and he reached down and grasped the tanned boy's hard length.  
  
Ken stroked slowly but firmly, quickening his pace as the redhead quickened his fingers. They seemed to develop a rhythm after that, and Ken was getting more and more lightheaded with each second.  
  
Daisuke's scent was driving Ken insane. It was intoxicating him to be surrounded by him like this. His skin, hair... everything was incredible. It invaded his senses and made him almost feel dizzy. It was some kind of warm, spicy smell, and he wanted more of it.  
  
His hand quickened even more, and after a few more seconds of this Ken pulled away and pushed the boy's fingers out of him. He wanted to go as far as this could possibly go, and only left one last thing. So he reached over and grabbed the bottle of lubricant, squeezing out a large amount into the palm of his hand, and began spreading it over his friend's length.  
  
"Dai-chan... please..." Ken pulled his lover over top of him and spread his legs, positioning their bodies together. "I need this... so bad..." He then wrapped his arms around his lover's neck, kissing him slowly and deeply.  
  
Once the boy had pushed about halfway into him, Ken hissed with pain and closed his eyes tightly, pulling away from the kiss and biting down on his lower lip. It hurt a lot more than any of his fingers had, but he didn't care. It would feel good once he stretched out and then it would be amazing. "Don't stop..." Ken begged, knowing that Daisuke was probably worried. "Please, please don't stop."

 

Daisuke's head was swimming. The firmness of Ken's strokes had been driving him insane. Feeling Ken's now slick lubricated hand stroking and lightly squeezing at him almost made him see stars. He wasn't sure how he was able to hold back, but he did. He had to be inside of him. He wanted to feel him.  
  
Ken removed Daisuke's fingers from him and was pulled on top of him. Ken pressed their kiss together as Daisuke begin to enter him, "Nng! Oh fuck," he moaned, burying his face into this lover's shoulder. He had never felt anything like this in his life. He moved as slow as his body would allow, not wanting to have Ken to split or tear. His body trembled as pulses of pleasure coursed through him.  
  
It didn't take long until he was completely in. He waited for a moment because he could see the uncomfortable look on Ken's face as well as hear sharp intakes of breath, despite the fact that his boyfriend begged him to keep going, "Shh, I don't need you tearing, love," he whispered into his ear, placing small pecks on his neck.  
  
After a few of the hardest moments of his life, Daisuke slowly withdrew about half way before easing back in. Ken pleaded for him to repeat the action and not wanting to disappoint him, he did, this time pulled almost completely out before doing a hard thrust back inside, striking Ken's sensitive spot dead on, both of them moaning and calling out in unison, Ken of course was a bit louder.  
  
The sound of his lover was the sweetest music to his ears. He held firmly onto his lover's pale hips as he began to pick up the pace, "O-oh!" he cried out as he felt Ken tense up a bit. It was apparent that he was nailing Ken's spot for his back arched and his fingers dug into the sheets.  
  
Every time Ken would moan, his canal would tighten, sending a shock of bliss through Daisuke. He released his hand from one side of his boyfriend's hips and slithered said hand around Ken's throbbing erection, stroking it gently. His tensing muscles made the teen above him calling out in pleasure. Daisuke's movement soon became harder and more rapidly, causing the headboard behind them crash loudly against the wall due to the hard thrusts of Daisuke's pelvis. "Aa-ah!" He called out as Ken's passage tightened up on him once again.  
  
Daisuke was aware at how loud they were being, but he didn't really care. He didn't care if the neighbor's knew he and his boyfriend were making the most amazing love of his life, but he also didn't need the building's manager to be called due to the loud crashing of the headboard. To avoid this, Daisuke sat up and pulled Ken into a sitting position on his lap, forcing Daisuke's shaft deeper inside him and another call to escape before locking lips with him again.  
  
_‘Oh god... this is real... this is really happening...’_

The sudden motion of Daisuke pulling Ken up on top of his lap surprised him, and he tried to position himself with his legs on either side of the dark skinned boy. He was feeling a bit dizzy and let his arms wrap around the other boy's neck, locking their lips together.  
  
Ken used his knees to jump up and down, the other boy's length pulling in and out. He started out slow, trying to get used to the new position, but found himself speeding up right away. Being on top like this was hot and all, but that amazing spot wasn't being struck anymore. So he altered his position a few times, trying to get it to go in at the right angle.  
  
Bending his back forward did the trick and Ken gasped, shutting his eyes tight. He moaned and gasped, lacing his fingers into the other boy's hair. He was sweating all over now, but so was his lover.  
  
Warm, clear precum ran down his shaft a bit, and Ken hissed with pleasure when the other boy grabbed it and began stroking, his body's natural lubricant making it slick.  
  
Feeling the tip of his boyfriend's member rub against that spot so firmly made it impossible not to moan with each exhale of breath. His body had melted and he let the upper half of his body fall against the other boy's chest. He was leaning against the wall though, so it wouldn't strain him.  
  
"Dai... Dai...!" Ken was starting to get close again, but his legs were getting tired. He wasn't out of shape by any means, but this wasn't a motion or angle he worked out much.  
  
"Dai!" Ken begged. "Fuck me... please...! I'm so close..."

Daisuke watched as Ken's beautiful body bounced on his. The feel of his lover growing tighter caused his head to throw back, expelling loud moans. He knew Ken was close... very close, as was he. Daisuke felt his body beginning to tense up. His lower region was screaming with pleasure as his mind was swimming to the point to where he could barely think straight. Daisuke's release was almost within grasp.  
  
Hearing Ken's pleads, he wanted to give his love what he wanted. Daisuke shifted and allowed Ken to fall back onto the mattress with ease. He wanted him to have the best release he had ever experienced in his life, so, he pulled completely out throwing his love's pale legs over his shoulders before ramming back into him, making sure every time he would hit Ken's sweet spot.  
  
Daisuke's breaths became more erratic and harsher with each thrust, his peak was so close, "A-aah fuck!" he called feeling the tightness around his length becoming more and more unbearable.  
  
Daisuke found his grip returning to Ken's swollen member, pumping it firmly, bringing him closer and closer. The redhead then grabbed the headboard with both hands.

 

"Dai!" Ken called out as he was penetrated again, now with his back on the mattress. He loved this, having the other boy hovering over him, forcing him down. It was the hottest thing he'd ever experienced and he didn't want it to end. However, he knew he couldn't hold out much longer no matter how much he wanted to.  
  
The harder and faster his lover pounded down into him, the closer he got, especially when he felt Daisuke's hand grip his member firmly again and begin stroking. The headboard creaked and slammed against the wall behind it, and it only excited Ken more.  
  
He pushed himself up every time Daisuke thrust down, deepening the penetration even more. His fingers scraped and griped at the tanned boy's hips, and he found himself pulling him downward into him as well.

 

At this point he didn't give two shits whether they were being too loud or not. He held onto the headboard with one hand, slamming into his lover, "Ohhmm! K-Ke--..!!" he cried out, at this point unable to finish a word.  
  
He held out as long as he could, but it was quickly becoming less possible by each passing second. It was then when he felt his lover tense up and cry out unlike before, sending Daisuke over the edge himself, "I- I- I'm...!" he cried out, throwing his head back in a long uneven groan. His muscles tensed as he released while making one last deep plunge inside Ken, spilling his seed deep within him.

 

"Yes... nng... Dai... yes!" Ken's fingers gripped the sheet and he shut his eyes, throwing his head back and gasping harshly. "Sh-shit- Dai-chan...!" Suddenly his vision went white and a moan escaped his throat that was almost strangled, much higher than any of his other ones had been. He felt himself climax intensely, his whole body tightening up as liquid exploded from himself and got on both Daisuke's abdomen and his own.  
  
Not even a full second later the other boy tensed up and jerked hard, a wet, hot sensation spreading throughout his body and giving him shivers. Ken gasped and wrapped his legs around Daisuke's hips, pulling him as deep into his body as he could. He let his lover continued to thrust slowly, prolonging both Daisuke's orgasm and his own as much as possible.  
  
Ken's legs shivered and lowered back onto the bed, resting on the soiled sheets beneath. He suddenly felt too exhausted to move and let his whole body relax. He panted deeply, his friend still inside of him.

 

Daisuke panted harshly as his and Ken's orgasm came to an end. His body suddenly became drained of energy as he calmed though his nerves still tingling with the aftershock. Daisuke looked down at the indigo haired boy under him with loving eyes. Seeing his lover panting as hard as he was and equally as exhausted he slowly removed his now flaccid length, earning a wince from the body under him. Daisuke laughed wryly looking at the white mess oozing down his abdomen as well as Ken's. He leaned down to his exhausted lover, placing a kiss of his lips, "I love you so much..."  
  
With a sly smirk on his face he dipped his head down to Ken's abdomen, running his tongue over the patches of white, taking in his lover's seed into his mouth before crawling forward and locking lips again. He was surprised that Ken actually allowed this. From his understanding a lot of people wouldn't. He smiled against his lips and pulled away, he just wanted to admire him for a moment.  
  
Never in his life had he heard Ken speak the way he had just spoken, however, Daisuke just couldn't help but enjoy the fact that Ken had a naughty streak somewhere in him and only he could be the one to bring it out.  
  
Daisuke came to his feet and walked over to his laundry basket and retrieved a towel to clean himself. How he was able to stand on wobbly legs like that without falling or even stumbling, was absolutely amazing.

 

When Daisuke removed himself from within Ken's body, it had stung quite a bit. Considering his friend's member was half the size now, it was rather strange to have it hurt when it pulled out now. Ken figured it was probably because his body had tightened up once he'd climaxed.  
  
Suddenly his friend was licking his stomach and Ken shivered, mostly because it kind of tickled. Then their lips locked again, and Ken was a bit surprised that it wasn't gross. It was a little weird he supposed, and tasted kind of bitter, but it wasn't enough of a put off to make his lover stop doing it. Maybe he really was a huge kicky tease deep down inside... and he really was a lot louder during sex than he'd ever imagined he would turn out to be!  
  
Ken found himself blushing when his friend stared down at him in admiration, and the realization seemed to strike him now. He'd just had sex. Not just that, but sex with Daisuke. He wasn't upset and he didn't regret one second of it, but he was still a bit lightheaded just thinking about it. That really, truly had all just happened hadn't it?  
  
He had to say, sex was a lot more amazing than he'd ever imagined it to be. He'd always known he wouldn't experience sex with a girl, as he'd never once been turned on by one. He even had watched porn a few times just to try and get hard, to prove that he was straight. All it had proved was that he wasn't though, and now he knew for certain.  
  
Ken stood up after his friend had, and found himself shutting his eyes from the soreness in his body. Not just his ass, but his back too. Maybe they'd overdone it a bit...  
  
"D-Dai?" Ken cringed. "Can I take a shower? Or a bath maybe? It... hurts..."

Daisuke smiled when Ken spoke of being sore, “I hope it didn’t hurt too much.” In a way he kind of considered it a good thing that he made his friend, who was in very good shape, to become sore and he was the one who had just gotten out of the hospital. Which Daisuke was actually shocked he wasn't hurting as bad as he thought he would have, especially his shoulder.  
  
He nodded, "And yes, there should actually already be some clothes and a towel in there. I was about to take a shower when you showed up earlier," he said, pulling on a pair of boxers.  
  
Once Ken exited the room he walked over to his bed and stripped off the sheets that had been soiled and threw then into the laundry basket across the room and made his way into the hallway to retrieve more from the linen closet. It was then that he realized the sun had set already. Had they really been in there that long? Normally his parents would have gotten off work by now, unless traffic was just terrible. That had to be it...  
  
He shrugged it off and returned to his bedroom, sheets in hand, and began making the bed. _‘Wow...’_ he thought, ‘ _that happened. We actually had sex!’_ Daisuke just couldn't get over it. He was just so... amazed at it. His heart was still beating wildly within him from the excitement. Another thing that amazed him that it wasn't pushed for it. Which he thought out of the two of them it would have been him. He couldn't help, but chuckle at this.  
  
After he finished placing the sheets of the bed he grabbed the comforter that was on the floor at the foot of the bed and placed it back on since it had avoided anything from getting on it and sat down on the, now, neatly made bed. It was then that he realized his vision in his right eye had gone fuzzy. He blinked a few times to straighten it out, but it seemed to not be working at the time. He wasn't sure if had done it while he and Ken tumbled through the sheets, but also he wasn't really paying any mind to it at the time.  
  
Daisuke sighed and eventually gave up and came to his feet. He just hoped it would stop soon as well as his achy muscles, which he knew since they didn't really hurt now, they would in the morning, especially since he most likely strained some.

 

Ken turned off the shower and dried himself off, putting the clothes he'd warn when he'd arrived at the Motomiya household back on. After that he dried his hair a bit with the towel and tossed it in the hamper. As nice as all of that had been, it was refreshing to feel clean again.  
  
Ken looked at himself in the mirror and cringed at the large welts left on his neck. They were extremely visible... there was no doubt what they were either. How long did a hickey take to fade away? Or in his case, all three of them... would makeup cover them up maybe? It's not like he had any of that though... he was gay, not a cross dresser.  
  
_'I just had sex... I actually did that for real, it wasn't a dream.'_  
  
A blush appeared on his cheeks and he felt nerves run through him. It hadn't really dawned on him while he was doing it because he'd been so lost in the moment. But now that it was over and he was alone like this he could think, and... and just... wow. He just had sex with _Daisuke_. He wasn't an innocent virgin anymore.  
  
Having Daisuke be his first made him incredibly happy though, and a smile crossed his face at the thought. That was something he'd been dreaming about, and it had actually just happened!

The redhead walked out of his bedroom and down the hall. It was then that something had occurred to him and it was the whole reason Ken had come over in the first place. He was willing to leave his home and family just to be with him. As special as Daisuke felt, he could help feel a bit bad about it. Because his friend wanted to be with him, he was willing to throw away everything he had built with his family over the past couple of years. As much as Daisuke would love to be with Ken and how happy and special his friend made him feel, there was still something speaking to him in the back of his mind asking "Is it worth it?"  
  
Again, the redhead shook it off, it was something he would have to talk to his lover about at a later time. He didn't want to irritate a fresh wound. Daisuke made his way into the kitchen and got a glass of water. Oh, man... he didn't realize how thirsty he was until he actually drank something. He refilled the glass and chugged another and another.  
  
As he placed his glass in the sink something caught his attention, was that the door? The redhead popped his head out and could see his sister walking in. He couldn't help, but have a deep blush explode onto his face. His heart rattled in his chest as he let out a deep breath. He didn't know why, but he was relieved to know that she was just coming in, "Oh, wow...." he whispered to himself, "just in the nick of time."  
  
He pulled his head back into the kitchen and tried to compose himself. He didn't need her suspecting anything. He would never hear the end of it! He cleared his throat and with another deep breath walked out of the kitchen, "Hey Jun," he said nonchalantly as he possibly could, trying to make as little eye contact as possible.  
  
Jun sat her keys on the table and removed her shoes, "Hey Daisuke," she replied. Daisuke felt compelled to hurry back to his room as quickly as possible and began heading that direction.  
  
"Ken still here?" she asked, making Daisuke come to a screeching halt, "W-w-w-what?" he said, his head snapping to her direction. How in the hell did she know he was there?  
  
"Is. Ken. Still. Here?" she asked again with a bit more emphasis.  
  
"H-h-how did you know Ken was here?" he asked.  
  
Jun sat her purse down and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a soda and popping the top, taking a drink, "Well, I have never seen those shoes over there before and assumed they were his," she said with a smile, taking another drink before closing the refrigerator door and strolling over to the couch, taking a seat. Daisuke sighed with relief and chuckled to himself.  
  
"Oh," she proclaimed, "Sae and me were going to watch a movie and since she left her keys at home we decided to come here." Daisuke's blood ran cold and his mouth dropped, "We decided against it though and went to the theatre."  
  
Jun's mouth curved into a wide devilish smile. Daisuke swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. He prayed to anyone willing to listen to please not to have let her hear anything. He knew though that the deed was done, but still felt obligated to ask, "Why did you decide against it?"  
  
Jun shook her head and laughed, "We wouldn't have been able to hear it anyways with your bed crashing against the wall the way it was." Daisuke could feel his legs weaken. He wanted to just lie down and die right there. He couldn't even look at his sister anymore. He turned around, his face blood red, and began to walk away, "All I know is that you two are incredibly loud!" she began to laugh, hard.  
  
"Okay Jun! Jeez!" he yelled, quickly retreating back towards his room.  
  
"I should be getting a 'thank you'! I text Mom and Dad telling them that I took you with me. So, they went out to dinner instead of coming straight home."  
  
Daisuke stopped and looked back at his sister. He smiled and cast his gaze toward the floor, "Thank you Jun." he said his voice just above a whisper before heading back to his room.

 

Ken walked over to the bathroom door and opened it, heading out into the hall. Immediately he heard Jun's voice and stopped to listen.  
  
His blood ran colder and his heart beat faster in his chest with every word he heard the girl say. Oh god... she'd heard them while they were... and her friend too?  
  
Ken quickly made his way into Daisuke's bedroom and shut the door quietly while the two siblings continued to talk. After that he threw himself on the bed and buried his face into the pillow, which was burning with humiliation.  
  
Soon enough someone walked into the room and Ken sat up, his face still red as a cherry. "She heard us, didn't she? And on top of that I have like, three hickeys! So now your parents will know too once they come home and the others will and... ugh!"  
  
He laid back on the bed, his back against the mattress and his hands over his face, and groaned with frustration. He was probably being overly dramatic, but he was just so embarrassed that he couldn't help it.

 

As Daisuke hurried back to his room, he could still hear Jun laughing in the living room. His face had changed four shades of red from learning that his sister, and possibly her friend, heard him and Ken having sex. It never failed, any time anything good happened something would spoil it in some way. Though he was glad that it was her instead of his parents. That would have been more devastating than Jun. He knew that she would give him a hard time, but all in all he was glad she lied for him.  
  
When Daisuke entered the room he saw Ken lying face down on his bed, making Daisuke cock an eyebrow as he shut the door. Once the door was shut Ken sat up asking if it was true that Jun sister had indeed heard them, "Yeah," he said quietly, "she did, but she did tell my parents that I was with her so they would go out to eat instead of coming straight back here. So, I have to give her that one."  
  
The redhead joined Ken on the bed, it was obvious he the freaking out and Daisuke couldn't blame him for that one. He was freaking out a bit himself. He examined the marks he had left on Ken's neck and couldn't help, but smile. Yeah, they were indeed noticeable, "I can see if Jun has anything to cover those if you want, but I would prefer if I just gave you a shirt that would cover them."  
  
He came to his feet and walked to his closet, pulling out black high-collar shirt and throwing it over to Ken, "Here."  
  
"By the way, I told you if you wanted to you could have changed into the clothes I had sitting in there instead of putting the ones you had on earlier back on," he said taking his seat back on the bed.  
  
"But I am about to go shower, so unless you want Jun to think something is up again, come on and get them," he said with a smirk.

 

Ken blushed, embarrassed for being so out of it that he'd forgotten to change into the clothes that Daisuke had given him. He just... couldn't think at all right now. His mind was off in 20 different directions and trying to catch up to one another.  
  
With a sigh he stood up and headed back into the bathroom, making sure not to look down the hallway and possibly make eye contact with Jun. Dear god, if that happened he'd probably just fall over dead right then and there.  
  
He changed quickly into the black shirt with the high collar and then the tight jeans that he'd been given. They must be too small for the other boy, because he was definitely thinner than him. He uh... knew for quite a fact that Daisuke had some build to him.  
  
He shook his head before he started thinking dirty thoughts and went back into his friend's room, once again shielding his eyes from the hallway with his hair.  
  
Upon entering his boyfriend's bedroom he found where his friend was standing and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, burying his face into his neck. While he was still sad about everything that had happened with his parents, finally being with the other boy and... well, doing all of that with him... it had given him more control over his emotions. He didn't know how long it would last, but for now he was able to just be with his lover and not be overcome with grief.  
  
It was also just really nice to hug him like this and not feel like he needed to hold back for some reason.

 

Daisuke wasn't expecting Ken to just come up and hug him the way he did, but he didn't back away from him. He wrapped his arms around Ken's waist and pulled him closer, feeling his warmth against his bare chest. He was so happy that here and now that they had no boundaries, they could just be themselves.  
  
Daisuke leaned down and captured Ken's lips in an innocent kiss before pulling away and rested their foreheads together. He smiled as he looked at the beautiful person before him, "I love you," he whispered, loud enough to where only Ken could hear. It made Daisuke heart flutter to know he was finally able to say that to someone and mean it. There had never been another person he felt this comfortable around in his life. He could be himself and not have to try so hard.  
  
Even when he had his crush on Hikari, he could never say he was in love with her. No, what he had with Ken was way more special. Something worth holding onto, something worth fighting for. They stayed that way for what felt like hours, until it occurred to him... he still needed to take a shower.  
  
"Hey, Ken. I think I should take my shower. I'm a little... heh, sticky..." he said finally backing away a little, "I won't be long."

 

Ken nodded and let his friend leave the room to go wash up, sitting down on his bed while he waited for him to return. After a minute or so he laid down fully on his back, looking up at the ceiling. His mind immediately returned to his parent's house, and the fight he'd had with his dad. The man sure was disappointed with him... and also disgusted. That was honestly what hurt the most. He knew he wouldn't like it, but being outright grossed out because Ken loved Daisuke... why?  
  
The slender boy shut his eyes and shook his head, forcing back the tears tugging at his eyes. No, not all of that again. He couldn't handle another break down right now... it was all just too much.  
  
His mind wandered to previous activities with Daisuke, a blush lighting up on his face. The looks on the redhead's face, the sounds he'd made, his body, the way he'd held him down so firmly... he couldn't have even imagined it all being as good as it had just been.  
  
Daisuke really did have a great body... he wasn't super buff or anything, but he did have a toned body and slight muscles. He was pretty um... big too. He was at least above average, and Ken supposed he himself was too. Not that his own size mattered much to him. The idea of him dominating Daisuke just... didn't work...  
  
The blush was back but he let it stay, letting his mind run away with itself instead of letting it go back to thoughts of his father. What did it taste like, giving head? Daisuke had done it to him, put it in his mouth and... well, Ken had always had a huge fetish for that. But he wanted to be the one doing it. Not that getting it was bad either.  
  
He heard the shower shut off in the bathroom and only then did he realize just how aroused he was, sitting up quickly. He hadn't meant to get all bothered but... if he didn't think about Daisuke then he started thinking about his family problems... and... just...  
  
The bedroom door opened and his friend came in, Ken making a point of bringing his legs up to his knees to try and hide his condition. However, he couldn't quite get the thought out of his mind... what was it like to do that? There was no way he was going to admit to thinking that though, no matter how much Daisuke pried!  
  
... Ken really _hoped_ Daisuke wouldn't pry.

 

The whole time he had been in the shower washing away any evidence of the activities that he and Ken engaged in, he could help but have his face flush. He had actually made love to Ken for the first time. The idea was still fresh and exciting, making it impossible to escape his mind.  
  
The thoughts had actually made it difficult to a point where he had become incredibly aroused and had to turn the hot water knob off and get a very unpleasant spray of cold. It seemed to help, but not completely. He figured after a while he would be able to calm himself... he hoped. He knew that they had just finished showering and figured Ken would most likely not want to start again knowing that Jun was there and his parents would be home any minute.  
  
Daisuke returned to the bedroom in only his pants, because he felt too lazy to find a shirt. He felt better after showering and changing the bandage on his leg that covered his healing stitched area. He rubbed his damp hair with the towel that draped over his shoulders before turning his attention back to Ken who sat on the bed with his knees to his chest. At the first glance it didn't really strike Daisuke as odd, so he shut his door and threw the towel into the hamper.  
  
It was then that he noticed Ken being very quiet. Was he thinking about his father again? Was he regretting what they did? He hoped not. He sat at the edge of the bed, "So... heh... you are being more quiet than normal. What's going on in my Ken's head?"

 

Of _course_ his friend asked about it, why would he even bother expecting anything else?  
  
Ken immediately blushed and looked away, feeling extremely embarrassed. "I-I was... it's nothing..." he stammered a bit, making it totally obvious that he was full of shit. Why did he always do this? He was so composed and witty around the others or at school, and yet when _Daisuke_ asked him something he was embarrassed about, he just... crumbled. His composure wouldn't stay at all.  
  
He knew damn well that his answer would not satisfy his friend and he'd continue to pry. That's how these situations always went.  
  
"I was wondering..." Ken trailed off, trying to find the right words without sounding too eager. "What was it like... putting... you know... _that_ , in your mouth?"  
  
He couldn't look the other boy in the eye.

 

That? What was Ken talking about? Daisuke cocked his head to the side with a questionable look on his face. He shifted on the bed and crossed his legs. One would think that the complete flush on Ken's face and his lack of composure would be a tell-tell sign of what he meant... however Daisuke was known for being quite dense at times.  
  
"That....?" he asked himself, trying to make what his friend had asked him make some amount of sense. He looked glanced back at Ken and could see that his face was red from embarrassment. Then it suddenly hit him. Daisuke face soon became just as red as Ken's. "O-o-ooh... that... heh..." he trailed off, trying not to laugh.  
  
"Well... it was different... I must say, but I enjoyed doing it," he said not really making eye contact anymore. The thoughts of Ken's reaction to Daisuke going down on him was one of the hottest things he had ever seen. The way his back arched and his begging moans were incredibly intoxicating and... oh shit. Damn and Daisuke thought that he was finally able to calm himself from these thoughts that he had in the shower.  
  
The redhead crossed his legs, trying to make it less obvious that he was now sitting uncomfortably with a raging erection. Daisuke swallowed the lump that had formed him his throat, "Uhm... why do you ask?"  
  
He shifted again and again, still trying to rid himself of his naughty thoughts, but it seemed the more he tried, it only made him think about it more. He could feel his face burning. ‘ _Oh man, I may need to go back to the bathroom and take care of this...’_

When Daisuke hadn't understood his question Ken chose to just wait and try not to die of heat stroke from the blush on his face. He'd get it... just give it a minute... and if not then he could just live in ignorance.  
  
The other boy's sudden stuttering signaled comprehension, and Ken wondered if it would have been better had he not ever figured it out. Ugh, this was so embarrassing... as if it wasn't already bad enough, now Daisuke wanted to know why he'd asked.  
  
"A-Ah... it's b-because... I just..." Ken stopped, closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath in. He just needed to calm down and stop being so shy and self-conscious. "It's because... you know... I've just always thought it would be fun to do that so... I figured I would ask since you have."  
  
And the composure was gone again, the blush was back, and he just couldn't bring himself to meet his best friend in the eye. If Daisuke didn't catch on to what he was saying then that was just too bad for him, because for the love of god, there was no way he was going to be more direct than that. What else could he say anyway? 'Hey Daisuke, can I suck you off?' Yeah, that wasn't happening.

 

The response Daisuke received was something he was totally not expecting. At first he was thinking that Ken may have been going somewhere else with this, but it turned out that he was wanting to experiment. Daisuke's heated face and stammering subsided a bit, but it seemed to be getting worse with his lover.  
  
Not really knowing how to respond to the question, the redhead couldn't help, but allow a big grin spread across his face. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lover's mouth before coming to his feet. He walked over to the door and opened it, looking down the hallway to see that his sister was no longer in the living room and was most likely in her bedroom.  
  
He shut the door and locked it before returning to the bed. He locked lips with Ken once more, "You know... you shouldn't feel obligated to ask," he said with a smirk before kissing him again.

 

Ken felt his heart rate increase drastically when Daisuke locked the door and started heading back, the realization that they were actually going to do this settling nervously into his mind. Before, things had been emotional and just kind of... got carried away.  
  
Their lips connected again and Ken shut his eyes, feeling shivers of anticipation run through him. He was really going to do this...  
  
The slender boy's fingers moved along his boyfriend's sides, eventually resting on his hips. He let his tongue push into Daisuke's mouth and roam around inside, his mind melting into mush almost immediately. His hands moved away from the boy's sides and began fiddling with the buttons on the redhead's pants. He could immediately tell how aroused Daisuke was as he pulled the zipper down, and he felt himself get hard again as well.  
  
Ken's hand pressed against the tanned boy's chest until their kiss broke and he was lying on his back. He pulled Daisuke's pants and boxers down just enough to pull his member out of the clothing's confinement, choosing not to fully remove them.  
  
A blush crept up his cheeks when he realized what he was about to do, but he didn't let it stop him. His lover's length was hot in his hand, and he could tell the contact was already enjoyable from the way the redhead shivered, his fingers and palm moving slowly up and down the shaft.  
  
_'I can't believe I'm about to do this...'_ Ken blushed harder, his thoughts making him feel nervous again. Even so he lowered himself and once he was right in front of it, he licked the tip gently, teasingly.  
  
The taste was... unusual. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. It was a bit bitter but not so much that he couldn't handle it. In fact, he found it hot for some reason. Maybe it was just how kinky this was that excited him.  
  
The way the boy quivered from his licks gave him some bravery, and he let the whole thing slide into his mouth, creating as much pressure around it as he could. Happy that he didn't appear to be having any issues with gag reflex, he let his speed increase.

 

Daisuke's mouth hung open as he felt Ken's hot, wet tongue glided over the tip of his member, sending chills through him. His face was incredibly flushed as he watched as Ken's tongue slid over his hardened length, "O-oh god...," he whispered in a drawn out breathy moan.  
  
This was going to be more difficult than he thought. He knew that he and Ken both were... very vocal when it came to things like this and now his sister was in the other room somewhere. However, Daisuke was not going to pass this up. He accepted the challenge.  
  
Daisuke sat up on his elbows and let his head hang back as Ken suddenly became a bit more daring and took him into his mouth, sucking the head as his hand moved up and down his now throbbing shaft in an intoxicating rhythm. It was then that Daisuke unconsciously allowed a deep moan that was a bit louder than he hoped it was, he just couldn't help it.  
  
Daisuke's fingers soon found their way into Ken's hair, tangling them into the soft locks. As Ken soon took more of Daisuke into his mouth, the redhead couldn't help but arch his back. He tried not to hurt Ken or cause him to gag, though he seemed to not have any problems so far, he didn't want his lover to stop. It did occur to him that for someone who had never done this before he was pretty skilled.  
  
Unlike Daisuke's sloppy blowjob that Ken received earlier while they had sex, He couldn't help but think he would need to repay his lover somehow, even though he didn't necessarily hear any complaints, he was beginning to think he got the better one. He also figured that at this point there was also no way Ken was not turned on by this.

 

Ken was overwhelmed with just how much fun this was. The way Daisuke kept losing his control and moaning turned him on, and he was possibly even harder than the boy getting the blow job was. The bitter taste had long been forgotten as well, and was even somewhat enjoyable now.  
  
His right hand gripped hard at the length and moved up and down along with his mouth while his left hand snaked up the tan boy's torso, until he reached the boy's nipple. He wasn't sure if Daisuke was sensitive to that kind of touch, but he figured he'd try it.  
  
The boy below him shivered and Ken continued to rub it with his thumb. He let his tongue twirl around the tip of the member, putting all the pressure in his mouth the head itself. After a few seconds he thrust his mouth down quickly, taking the rest of the shaft. Daisuke appeared to enjoy this, so he kept it up for a little bit.  
  
"Mmm...!" Ken accidently moaned through the length, hungry for more. Jesus, this was turning out a lot hotter than he'd imagined. Just like everything involving sex with the redhead seemed to.  
  
Ken smirked inwardly, feeling mischievous. Just how long could his lover stay quiet? He thrust his mouth down hard, the length burying deep into his throat and his lips touching the skin around the base of the shaft. He pulled his mouth back up before he gagged. As long as he was fast about it, he seemed fine...  
  
Ken grabbed the boy's hips with both hands and quickly did it again, making sure not to keep it that deep for more than a second, or he could tell he might choke.

 

Daisuke's mouth hung open as he felt himself going deeper within Ken's mouth. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to remain in silence, seeing how he was more vocal when it came to things like this. As he felt his lover's tongue press against the underside of his member as he went down again, a tremor of pleasure rode through him causing a moan to escape.  
  
He knew immediately how loud he was, but he couldn't help it. He bit down on his lip to try to control the noises and moans that came from him though he noticed it didn't stop Ken in the least, in fact it seemed to encourage him. The thought of Ken being in control over him was incredibly arousing. He knew that most gay couples swapped being dominate and at the moment he could see why. It would be completely unfair if only one got the special treatment.  
  
Ken's hand found its way to the redhead's nipple and began to massage it with his thumb. A few times Daisuke tried it when he masturbated and he never got a jolt out of it, but the way Ken pinched and massaged it was nothing like that he could have done to himself, "Mmmg... fuck...!" he groaned loudly as Ken pushed his head all the down, making Daisuke's throbbing member be forced into the constricting muscles of his throat.  
  
"Ohh god Ken... Mmm, please don't stop," he begged in a breathy moaned. _‘Holy shit! He is good!’_  
  
He felt the fingers that had begun to cling to the sheets under him, find their way back to Ken's soft locks. As hard as it was, he fought the urge to force his boyfriend head down. He soon found himself grunting in the same rhythm as when Ken's head would go down, coming closer and closer to his peak. He felt as if ever nerve on his body were on fire. Even though he knew both of them had just recently showered, he wanted Ken so much at this point. He wanted to feel him again.  
  
"K-ke... o-oh god... I'm so close..." he moaned, his back arching, meeting with Ken his pulsing cock was sent into his lover's throat again. His fingers tangled more into his soft damp hair.

 

Ken dug his fingers into the tanned boy's hips, moving his head up and down as fast and hard as he could. He created even more pressure with his mouth, to the point where it was hurting his tongue and cheek muscles to keep it up. He didn't care, the way the boy beneath him squirmed was way too delicious to stop.  
  
He panted through the length, refusing to stop his motion even as the boy beneath him pushed himself upward into his mouth more. He allowed it, closing his eyes tightly. It wasn't going all the way down his throat like it had before, but it was getting there, and the gag reflex was coming back.  
  
Ken pulled back a bit, taking a few breaths and then going back into it. He kept the length from going into his throat so he could go faster, sucking harder.  
  
The boy was getting close, he could tell from the way it pulsated in his mouth even without the redhead telling him. He wanted to taste it, so he kept going. He clenched his eyes shut again and let it go deeper, his lips once again touching the skin around the base.  
  
Warm semen filled his mouth and he swallowed hard, having to do so multiple times as it kept coming. Once it was done and he'd swallowed about three times, he slowly pulled his mouth off. He panted hard, wiping sweat off his forehead.  
  
"W-Was that alright...?" Ken asked nervously. "I've never done that so... it probably could have been better..."

It didn't take Daisuke much long until his vision blurred. His body tensed as he finally reached his peak. He was able to control himself from and only allowed out a small muffled groan. He could feel his seed shoot down into Ken's throat and was amazed that he swallowed all of it.  
  
He laid back panting, trying to compose himself. When Ken began to ask how he did, seeming a little bit apprehensive, he sat up and pulled Ken into a sloppy kiss, hoping that would be answer enough for him. He could still taste bitter reminisce of himself as he slipped his tongue inside Ken's mouth.  
  
He crawled onto the floor where Ken was and began touching him anywhere and everywhere he could. He could see how turned on the boy was and couldn't find it in himself to just leave him like that. With waiting no longer he slipped his hand inside his pants and began firming pumping Ken's incredibly stiffen length. He broke the kiss for a moment, "That was the most amazing thing I had ever experienced."

 

The sudden kiss had surprised Ken for many reasons. Well first because he just hadn't expected it, but also because of what had just been in his mouth... then again, he hadn't minded before when their places were switched. Then again, he also hadn't come in his boyfriend's mouth.  
  
Ken was vaguely aware of Daisuke saying something to him, lost in the pleasurable touching. The boy's warm hand grasped him hard and began pumping, Ken biting down on his lower lip. After what he'd just done, he was a lot more sensitive than usual.  
  
"Dai..." He groaned as quietly as he could manage. He didn't know what the boy intended to do with him, but he honestly didn't care. As far as he was concerned, Daisuke could have his way with him. "T-Touch me..." he begged, still trying to stay quiet but it was getting really difficult.  
  
Yeah, maybe teasing his boyfriend into making noise was coming back to bite him now.

 

It didn't take long for Daisuke to feel himself heating up once more, not like he was completely spent from moments before. His heart began to pick up speed as his lips trailed away from Ken's mouth and along his jaw. He removed his hand from Ken's pants and slowly pulled them down, allowing them to pool at his ankles. Through the fabric of his boxers the redhead softly ran his palm over the tented area at Ken's pulsing erection, smiling as he felt his lover's press into his touch.  
  
"Shhh... Be patient, love," he whispered with a sultry tone.  
  
Again, Daisuke's palm ran over the protrusion in his boxer, earning another low moan from Ken as well as a shudder. The redhead slipped his hand, again, under the waistband and began slowly stroking at Ken's length. He could see his lover desperately trying to keep quiet, but it seemed to be getting more and more difficult. To make things a bit easier he slipped down his lover's boxer, where they could easily be stepped out of.  
  
Daisuke led Ken down slowly to the bed with him, not breaking his rhythm, allowing him to sit on his lap. He wanted to give what he asked for, but, then again he wanted to tease him. Make him beg. He could feel as Ken would tense up, therefore making Daisuke pull away. With each moan that was earned, the redhead felt himself growing harder, his own erection pressing painfully against the small of Ken's back.  
  
Daisuke broke the kiss for a moment to pull the shirt that he had given Ken to cover marks from their previous session over Ken's head and discarded it before passionately kissing him again. As Daisuke began pumping the stiffened length again, his other hand slithered up his side slowly and brushed his thumb over Ken's nipple, earning another moan from him, allowing Daisuke to slip his tongue inside Ken's mouth in a sloppy kiss.  
  
It was very pleasing to hear his lover moan and buck his hip into his touch. Daisuke could feel the hot pre-come dribbling down Ken's member, making it slick and easier to work. "Don't come yet," he whispered as he felt him tense up again.  
  
With that said, Daisuke ushered Ken off of him and retrieved the bottle of lubricant. With a wicked smile he pushed Ken playfully onto his back, leaving his lower half slightly off the bed. Before returning onto the bed he went ahead and finished removing his pants. As he sat down next to a bothered Ken he lowered his head down to his length, licking the reminisce of pre-come that coated him. He took the head into his mouth, sucking hard. This didn't last long before pulling away.  
  
He took the bottle of lubricant and squeezed a fair amount into his hand, applying a good coat over his fingers. Daisuke placed his fingers between Ken's legs and with the opposite hand began pumping him once more before slipping two fingers deep inside him.

 

The penetrating fingers were slick and warm, and rubbed right up against that incredibly sensitive spot deep inside of him. Ken wanted to moan loudly but forced it back, which resulted in a whimper. This was all so crazy... he'd never been turned on like this before today. Daisuke seemed to want him to beg, but it felt too good to even get the words out of his throat.  
  
He panted hard as the fingers continued to press in and out of him, slowly at first, but quickly picking up speed. Ken noticed that the other boy was hard again, and he wanted to please him as much as he was being pleased. Even if he'd already given him a blow job he still couldn't leave him like that.  
  
Ken reached down and grabbed the boy's length, stroking hard and fast as the boy's fingers pulled in and out of his body. The slender boy met the rhythm and began rocking himself into the touch.  
  
Normally he'd have held back and made it last longer, but there was still enough mental capacity left in him to remember that Mr. and Mrs. Motomiya would be coming home soon. So he completely let loose and within another few minutes he felt himself near his peak.  
  
"D-Dai..." Ken whimpered again, reaching over and grabbing the box of tissues from the bedside table. Not wanting to have to shower again, he quickly wrapped the tip of his member with the tissue. His back arched as he came, the white fluid managing to not make a mess everywhere this time.  
  
His hand squeezed especially hard as he came, and he felt his lover shiver from his own climax. White fluid filled his hand and clung to his fingers.  
  
Ken panted and pulled away, feeling even more spent than the first time they'd fooled around.

 

After his third climax of the night, Daisuke felt himself again to be completely drained. He had stamina, but anymore of this he probably wouldn't be able to walk for three days. Seeing Ken covered in his come was probably one of the hottest things ever. But, he could think about that anymore. This was an exciting thing, but it was only the beginning.  
  
Daisuke leaned down, as he slowly removed his fingers from his lover, and placed a passionate kiss on his lips, "You are so amazing." With that said, Daisuke couldn't help but have a blush creep onto his cheeks, "I love you."  
  
The redhead crawled off the bad and found his pajama bottoms and slipped them on beforehand Ken his clothes along with a towel. He knew that tissue could tear and leave some stuff behind. Besides he had to wash towels anyway.  
  
"Daisuke! Jun! You guys here!?" Daisuke's blood ran cold, hearing his parents muffled voices in the other room. He was so glad that nothing was heard this time. He couldn't help but laugh seeing Ken having the same reaction and quickly shuffle to redress himself. With a smirk, not taking his eyes off of the indigo haired boy, he called back to his parents, "Yeah mom! We're in here!"

 

Right after Ken had finished cleaning himself on the towel, with the intention of at least washing his hands in the sink afterward, he heard Mr. and Mrs. Motomiya call to them from the living room. His blood ran cold and he froze up for a moment, quickly finishing up with re-dressing himself afterward.  
  
Ken could feel how red his face was and prayed that his boyfriend's parents wouldn't come in the room. It probably smelled of sex by now and his hair was all tangled up... it would be pretty obvious what they'd been doing in there together.  
  
Thankfully they appeared to be heading into the kitchen or something, satisfied with their son's answer. Ken breathed a sigh of relief, walking over to the door to hopefully air out the room. The fresh, cold air on his face was very refreshing compared to the stuffy bedroom that had filled with up with body heat.  
  
"Hey I'm gonna wash my hands." Ken walked over and kissed his lover lightly on the lips, wrapping his arms gently around his shoulders. "They're kind of... covered in you," Ken chuckled and kissed the boy again.

 

Daisuke pulled his pants up and found a shirt to pull over. He knew that even though he probably couldn't see them somewhere on him would be curious marks that he didn't want to be questioned about. It was bad enough that his parents knew that he was a trill junkie and he didn't need them knowing he just got done having sex. He was still horribly embarrassed that his sister knew.  
  
Daisuke chuckled and returned the kiss, "That sounds very sexy," he whispered, pressing their foreheads together.  
  
He could hear his parents moving about in the other room and figured he should at least go out there and let them know that Ken was there. The redhead first had to go wash his hands. As Ken left the room he quickly paced down the hall and through the living room luckily not having his parents see him from the kitchen.  
  
He entered the other bathroom, closing the door behind him, and washed his hands. He grabbed a wash cloth from the shelf and quickly washed his face as well as try to cool himself down. He never thought messing around like that would make his body temperature climb the way it did.  
  
As he finished, there was a knock at the door, "Daisuke? If that you in there?" It was his mom. He quickly dried his face and opened the door.  
  
"Hey mom," he said nonchalantly, walking out of the bathroom.  
  
She cocked an eyebrow, "Why aren't you using your bathroom?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, Ken's in there," he replied walking into the kitchen, seeing that Jun had joined their father. Though he knew that she wasn't going to say anything, he still felt his face get hot from embarrassment because she knew.  
  
"So, did you guys eat while you were at the movies?" his mother asked.  
  
"Movies?" he asked. It wasn't until he glanced at Jun, receiving a 'shut up and go along with it' face, that he remembered that she had told them that he had done with her, "Oh! No, we didn't. We came back here after the movie..."  
  
Jun's face fell into her hand. God! Her brother was the worst liar ever! Their parents looked at them with a curious look on their face, "Did Ken go with you to the movies?"  
  
"Ken's here?" their father questioned.  
  
Jun sighed, "Yeah, when we were leaving he showed up and so we just took him with us."  
_  
‘Fuckin' Daisuke needs to learn to lie better.’_

It was a good thing Ken had overheard Daisuke and Jun's conversation with their parents before he reached the kitchen, or he may have blown their cover even more.  
  
"Thank you very much for taking me along." Ken said politely to Jun, managing to keep himself entirely composed somehow. Deep down he was ridiculously embarrassed that she knew what just happened, and he had a sinking feeling that if Jun knew, then a LOT more people were going to know soon... but for now, he could at least pretend nothing was wrong for Daisuke's parents.  
  
Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Ken watched as Mrs. Motomiya went to answer it.  
  
"Hello, is Ken here? Is he okay?"  
  
Ken froze when he heard his mother's voice, and then quickly made his way over to the front door to see if it was really her. He was quite relieved when he didn't see his father there with her.  
  
"I'm alright mom," Ken answered, giving her a hug in the doorway.  
  
"Are you sure?" She asked him sadly. She had clearly been worrying about him a lot ever since he left.  
  
"Well... I've definitely been better," Ken sighed. "Dad hasn't been yelling at you for defending me, has he?"  
  
"Oh, no." His mother laughed and shook her head. "It's more like I've been yelling at him and he's been unsuccessfully trying to defend himself."  
  
It was then that Ken realized Mrs. Motomiya seemed a bit confused. "Uh..." Ken trailed off a bit. He was going to ask if he could stay anyway, so this was probably the best time to bring it up. "I came over today because my dad found out about Daisuke and me being together, and he kicked me out of the house..."  
  
_'No, don't start getting emotional.'_ Ken thought viciously to himself. _'Don't even start.'  
_  
"He didn't mean what he said, Ken." His mother tried to reassure him. "He's just confused and feeling pressured by the family, but he'll come around." Then she turned to Mrs. Motomiya. "I don't mean to impose, but is it alright if Ken stays here for a little bit? I brought some of his things..."  
  
It was then that Ken realized she had a backpack around her shoulders that she removed and handed to him.

 

Mrs. Motomiya was shocked to hear about Mr. Ichijouji's reaction to Ken and her son being together. She was actually very happy that they were. Even she could see that they were a perfect match together and by what Mrs. Ichijouji was saying, it seemed that she felt the same way.  
  
She knew her husband wasn't as excited about their son being gay as Daisuke would have hoped, but he would have never thrown Daisuke out because of it. After their son told them about this, that night she finally got him to talk about it. He said that he had wished Daisuke would have carried on their family name and figured that Daisuke would have children and be there for them more than he was for him. Mrs. Motomiya also explained that even though they were gay, it never meant that they couldn't raise a child together.  
  
The thought of his potential grandchild being raised by two men was a little off putting, but he never thought about how maybe it would make much of a difference. After a while Mr. Motomiya seemed to accept it more than he had before. He wasn't mad and he didn't hate his son, but the disappointment he felt before seemed to have faded some.  
  
Mrs. Motomiya looked over at Ken and could see that he was very upset about his father's reaction and she couldn't just say he couldn't. She smiled, "Of course he can. He wouldn't be imposing at all. If anything, he would keep my son from doing anything stupid again," she said flashing a glare at Daisuke.  
  
Daisuke made a sour face at his mom, "Man... mom..." he retorted even though he was happy Ken would be staying with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah... um... see you next week!


	10. What is This Feeling So Sudden and New?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get awkward with Taichi and Koushiro...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our sincerest apologies for not posting for the last few weeks. With the holidays, being sick, and studying for my certification tests, things were pretty hectic. Now with it all out of the way, things should be back on schedule! We hope your holidays and New Years went well!  
> -Highgreenbunny

**FOR THOSE WHO SKIPPED THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER (RECAP):** _While Daisuke and Ken were fooling around, Jun and her friend came to the apartment to watch a movie, but after quickly realizing what was going on, they left and went to the theater instead. She ends up telling her parents that she took Daisuke with them so they would go out instead of going straight home (Such a good sister :D). Afterwards when she comes home she tells her brother she heard them and teases him. When their parents finally get back they have to lie about Ken showing up as they left and took him with them. Eventually Ken's mother shows up and that's when Daisuke's parents find out that Ken was kicked out of his house and Ken's mom asks if her son can stay there for a while until this mess is resolved. So as of right now, Ken is living with Daisuke! Now, on with the next chapter!!_

_\---_

 

It has been a few weeks since Koushiro finally let it slip that he had no interest in women to Taichi. What he should have done was never let it slip that he liked someone. Oh god, that was a mistake. Ever since then Taichi has been a major distraction for him. It wasn't like he didn't enjoy the brunet's company, he did, but It seemed like every day Taichi was there and less and less of his studies and homework were finish. He barely finished a huge project that he had been working on.  
  
Koushiro sat at his computer chair, fingers dancing over the keys of his laptop, trying so hard to concentrate on the paper he had due in two days. However with Taichi rolling around on his bed, his concentration was fading in and out. Taichi had been rambling on and on for the past two hours about... well, he wasn't sure what it was about, he just heard bits and pieces of what he was saying.  
  
Frustrated Koushiro leaned back in his computer chair, rubbing his eyes and sighed. When Taichi asked him what his problem was he didn't want to sound rude and say 'you talking’, so he settled with, "This paper is kicking my ass, Taichi-san. It seems to be meaningless repetition and babbling that I find to be very irritating because it's like, how many ways can you say the same thing over and over? It's ridiculous."  
  
The redhead came to his feet, "You hungry or something?" Koushiro didn't really wait for an answer; he just walked out of the room.

 

Taichi followed his best friend into the kitchen, pondering over the question. "You know I'm always hungry! What'cha got?" He didn't wait for an answer though before he was digging around in the refrigerator. After a few minutes he pulled out some of Mrs. Izumi's homemade rice balls, which he knew from personal experience were amazing. Just about everything she cooked was amazing though, unlike his own mother.  
  
Taichi quickly finished the first rice ball, biting down into a second one and getting some water from the fridge. "I know you've been working hard on your school stuff and all that. Sorry it's kicking your ass, but I really doubt I could help you with it."  
  
He laughed a bit at the thought of being able to do something that Koushiro couldn't. Well... he supposed the exception would be with physical activities. His best friend really seemed to hate anything that gave him a work out. That was something Taichi simply couldn't understand about the other boy. Soccer and running around outside was his favorite activity, and yet the person he was closest to pretty much only did it if he _had_ to.

 

He was curious because it was getting late if Taichi was just going to stay over again. As they entered the kitchen and Koushiro rummaged through the cupboards for something simple and easy to make he glanced over at the brunet that was now sitting on the counter, "You staying tonight?"

  
            "Do you _want_ me to stay tonight?" Taichi said with sexual eyes and a wink, laughing at himself a few seconds later. He didn't really know how Koushiro would react to silly gay jokes, it was more something he did with Yamato anyway. Oh well, he liked to be random and his friend would probably laugh at it with him. If not, he just wouldn't make those jokes around him anymore.

 

Koushiro chuckled at his friend at his remark as he shook his head, ducking it back into the refrigerator so the brunet wouldn't catch the blush that crept onto his face. He saw that Taichi had found his supply of rice balls that his mother had made for him. Knowing Taichi he would turn into a vacuum soon and there would be no trace of their existence, "Are you enjoying those?" he motioned with his eyebrow cocked to the food in his hand that had already been half way devoured.  
  
The redhead finally found some leftover teriyaki noodles that to eat. He made his way over to the table not bothering to heat them up. It was strange how it never bothered him to eat it like that like it would for most people.  
  
"It's completely up to you if you want to stay. You know where the blankets are," he said with a tired voice. He knew that his work was way more advanced than what Taichi was used to and he wasn't really one for asking for help anyways. He always did better on his own.  
  
Koushiro was exhausted and at the moment he had a headache that kept fading in and out. He didn't want to appear rude and want Taichi to think he was boring so he tried to continue something of a conversation, "I suppose if you are wanting to you could sleep in my bed."

 

Taichi had almost been too into the food he was eating to catch the last remark his friend had given him. Almost, but not quite enough. There was just enough suggestion in the words to successfully pry his attention away from eating, and that was not an easy accomplishment.  
  
The brunet raised an eyebrow at his friend, genuinely confused. Had he just been... suggesting they sleep in the same bed together? Koushiro had always offered to help set up a bed on the floor for him when he stayed over, never offering up his own bed... so... he wanted both of them to sleep together?  
  
Taichi realized he was staring and shook his head a bit, getting his bearings back. "U-Uh..." He found himself stutter a bit. "I mean... you know..." Taichi felt a smirk form on his lips without really meaning to. It just kind of slithered its way onto his face of its own accord, dirty thoughts filling his mind. Again without really thinking about what he was doing, his hand hit the wall next to Koushiro's head. "I could certainly keep you warm tonight, if that's what you like..."

 

Did he just hear what he thought he heard? Surely not... Taichi just didn't flirt with him... did he? A bit of noodle fell out of the redhead's mouth as he turned his attention to his friend. A blush crept back onto his face as he took another bite. At the moment he wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't sure if should ask either.  
  
He gulped hard, "Um, w-what did you say?" he stuttered out.  
  
Sharing a bed with Taichi? His best friend keeping him warm? That sounds like trouble waiting to happen. That also sounded like it would be very nice at the same time. No. Not now. Koushiro could feel his face getting hotter by the second. He needed to calm down. Maybe Taichi was just joking again. Of course. Why else would he say something like that? There was no way he would mean it.  
  
He had to play this cool. It's not like he didn't like the jokes, he just wished that he wouldn't pray that in some cosmic way that Taichi was being serious. He didn't want to get his hopes up for something that would probably never happen. Just because his friend was bisexual doesn't mean he suddenly finds him attractive. He was attracted to guys like Yamato. The redhead laughed wryly, coming to his feet, "Well, I'm going to try and finish this paper, just go wherever you are comfortable." With that, he left the room.

 

Now alone in the kitchen, Taichi found himself feeling extremely confused. Hadn't Koushiro been flirting with him first? The way his friend had just reacted though, and walked out of the room... he must have really misread what Koushiro had said. Wow, he was a total retard. A cringe formed on his face and he quickly left the kitchen as well.  
  
"Koushiro-san!" Taichi called out to his friend and followed him into the hallway. "Are you mad? I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable. I actually... haha... I kind of thought you were flirting with me first and, yeah whatever, just never mind. Anyway, sorry! I'll sleep on the floor like normal."  
  
Taichi gave his friend a smile and a friendly pat on the back, and then made his way into his room. He reached up into the top shelf of the closet and pulled down the usual floor mat, sheets, blanket and extra pillows that he normally used. He had to admit though, he really wasn't tired yet. Maybe he could find something quiet to do while Koushiro was sleeping.

 

Koushiro cocked an eyebrow. He wasn't mad at Taichi, did he come across that way? He sighed, "No, Taichi-san, I'm not mad. I just..." he trailed off. What was so hard about saying what he was thinking? ‘ _No, Taichi-san, I really like you and you making jokes like that only get my hopes up. I believe I have so chance with you.'_ '  
  
He wouldn't say that... but what would make this situation a little less awkward? Make a sexual joke back at him? Then, he may think he liked him, but if he just felt it that way it was, Taichi may feel like he can't joke and be himself around him.  
  
He smiled at him, a small blush was creeping onto his cheeks, "I never knew myself to be much of a cuddler."  
  
That was... better?

 

Once again Taichi was thrown off by the implications in Koushiro's words. Had he actually meant that to be a sexual joke, or was he just saying confusing things? He'd really never seen him as the type to flirt, so it wasn't quite so obvious for Taichi what his friend meant...  
  
Well, Koushiro said he wasn't mad, so... might as well have fun with it!  
  
"Awe... really?" Taichi gave him a sideways glance. "That sucks, cuz I think I just might enjoy cuddling with you."  
  
Taichi made a point of not sounding overly cheesy this time, wanting give a more realistic sounding response. Gay jokes were always best when they didn't sound obviously fake.

 

A sudden explosion of red painted Koushiro's face. He couldn't find any words to say back at the moment. Whatever did come out was making him sound like a rambling fool. He was finding eye contact to be increasingly difficult. Taichi's words sounds serious. Koushiro knew that they were only jokes, but somewhere inside of him was hoping he honestly meant these words.  
  
After a moment of incoherent babbling, Koushiro sighed and was able to compose himself somewhat and gain his senses, "Now why on earth would you want to do that with me?" He didn't want to sound like he was killing the moment.  
  
He was indeed serious about the question. Why would Taichi want to 'cuddle' with him? Wasn't he still getting over Yamato? Or did he take into consideration when he told him that maybe he should open himself to more opportunities?  
  
_‘Stop it Koushiro...’_ he thought to himself, ‘ _Do not over think this. Do not get excited. Do not wear your heart on your sleeve.’_ The redhead thought for a moment about what he could say to his friend, but words seemed to be running in short supply at the moment. Then again, maybe if he played the game too then it wouldn't be so awkward.  
  
"Tell you what Taichi-san, if you can give me 10 good reasons why I should let you in my bed with me... I may even cuddle back." he said finally. Did he go too far with this? Undoubtedly...

 

There was something about the way Koushiro blushed and rambled on for a while that Taichi really enjoyed watching. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, but it was certainly making him want to push that button a lot more. No one had ever reacted that way to something he'd said before. Girls usually just called him immature and stupid if he flirted. Of course he'd been joking with Koushiro, but...  
  
"Ten reasons?" Taichi raised an eyebrow and then thought hard, enjoying this game quite a bit. "Uh... Because I'm your best friend." he started, lifting up a finger as he went. "You don't want to make me sad, I'm clean, I'll make you breakfast in the morning, I let you sleep in my bed a few times, it's cold outside so your floor is cold, having me there will make it warmer, your floor mat is stiff, you're the one who told me to sleep in your bed in the first place, and you know you want me there anyway."  
  
Well, those were about the best reasons he was going to be able to come up with on the spot like this. They probably could have been a lot better had he had more time to think about them, but whatever.

 

Koushiro couldn't believe that Taichi was actually listing reasons. A smile pressed on his lips that he couldn't suppress. He honestly didn't think that the brunet was serious. When he mentioned that Koushiro wanted him in there to begin with, he went ahead and counted that even though he did offer the bed, he never said he would be in it at the same time. The last thing the brunet said kind of took Koushiro aback.  
  
_"You know you want me there anyway…"_  
  
Did he really come across that way? He must have been considering that he was giving his friend the option of even being there at all. Yes, Taichi knew he was gay, but he wasn't sure if Taichi knew he liked him. The redhead felt like he had already made a fool out of himself enough considering that he seemed to suddenly not be able to form words anymore. That was embarrassing.  
  
Koushiro wasn't good at things like this. He never really had anyone flirt with him before and he never flirted with anyone before. It seemed like he made things worse when he did say something. He dug a hole that he was unable to get himself out of.  
  
Taichi stood there, triumphant again, seeming to be enjoying this. Why was he not good at things like this? He was still blushing like a maniac and his words were still shaking. Again he collected himself he thought of something to say back, "Why should I count that last one? You don't know that to be true."

 

Taichi was... confused, actually. He really had no idea what was going on in Koushiro's head anymore. Why did he suddenly seem so flustered and cautious about what they were doing? Weren't they just being silly here? Maybe Koushiro was just getting embarrassed now. He was pretty sure that his friend had never tried flirting before, so maybe all this joking around was becoming too much.  
  
Unless... maybe Koushiro was just pretending to be the "hard to get type" in their little flirting game. That had to be it!  
  
Taichi could definitely play this game. He was good at not backing down and being super stubborn. It was also just really fun to watch Koushiro blush like that. He kind of wanted to see what other reactions he could get out of him...  
  
"Well I know because..." Taichi stood up and walked over to Koushiro, stopping right in front of him. "If you really didn't want me there, then you wouldn't have given me the option in the first place. I think you're just being shy."

 

Koushiro's heart skipped a beat as Taichi came to his feet and stood before him. He didn't leave much of a space between them, in fact he could feel the brunet's body heat, and as he spoke Koushiro, again, found it hard to make eye contact. Taichi did have a point, but Koushiro wouldn't admit to that just yet.  
  
The redhead could feel his heart pounding hard in his chest. Why did his friend have such an effect on him? He tried backing up a bit to have a little space, but it seemed that his friend wouldn't allow that. Anytime he would move, even just a little, Taichi would move too.  
  
After, once again collecting himself, he looked up at the brunet and smiled, "Taichi-san, I may be shy, but I am not swooned so easily."

 

Taichi felt some strange kind of spark light off inside his chest. The provocations in the other boy’s words were really stirring him up. This was pretty much proof that Koushiro was purposely playing hard to get. He probably figured that Taichi would just give up at some point because he wouldn't be brave enough to actually get a bit physical.  
  
Did Koushiro even _know_ him?  
  
"Well that's good." Taichi smirked and grabbed his friend's thin waist firmly with his hands. Then he leaned forward and whispered low into his ears, "Because it wouldn't be fun if you were easy."  
  
Without allowing the other boy to react, he shoved him backwards towards the bed. When Koushiro's back had landed on the mattress, Taichi quickly crawled over top of him and pinned his arms down firmly above his head.

 

As Taichi's husky voice hung in his ear and held a firm hold on his waist, Koushiro could feel shivers running down his spine. What did he mean by that? But before Koushiro had a chance to really think, he was pushed back on his back with his friend crawling on top on him, _‘Oh god...’_ he thought as Taichi grabbed his arms and held him firmly above his head.  
  
The redhead knew he was playing with fire, but never expected that the brunet would become so physical. Koushiro couldn't help but squirm, trying to free his hands, but it did no good as he figured it would.  
  
Though his heart was rattling within his chest and his face was burning from a mixture of excitement as well as apprehension, he couldn't help but want to see how far Taichi was willing to go. Surely not much farther. Jokes can only go so far... right?  
  
"Tai..Taichi-san, s-surely, this isn't how you plan to make a lasting impression," he finally stammered out.

 

Wow, Koushiro was a button pusher! He had no idea his friend had a side like this to him, and quite frankly, he was enjoying it immensely. The way he kept shivering and squirming, his flustered voice, being on top of him... it was all so fun!  
  
So Koushiro wanted a lasting impression, did he?  
  
"Mm..." Taichi hummed with a smirk spreading across his lips. He once again let his voice drop and his lips lower to the other boy's ears. "You must really want me..."  
  
Taichi let his tongue run lightly over the other boy's earlobe, chuckling a bit when he felt his friend shiver from the action. He adjusted Koushiro's hands so that he could hold them down with just one arm, letting his other hand trail up the boy's shirt along his lower back. He pulled Koushiro's torso up off the bed a bit so that their chests were touching.  
  
His tongue moved downward and began playing across the other boy's neck, his lips sucking on the skin a bit. Not enough to leave any kind of mark, but just enough to feel his friend quiver again.

 

As much as he fought it, as much as he wanted to deny it, he couldn't. Taichi's touch was indeed intoxicating. Koushiro felt his body tense as the brunet's hot breath danced over his skin. He had never seen Taichi act this way before and he would be a liar if he told him that he wanted him to stop. His head began to cloud up, feeling the effect of the other's touch.  
  
The redhead's eyes slid shut when he felt Taichi’s taunting tongue sliding over his ear and moving towards his neck, "Mmm.. oh god," he moaned, sounding slightly hoarse. Koushiro bit his lip as his back arched a little when his friend began teasing his neck around, sending shivers through him.  
  
Koushiro had never in his life felt this way, had he been so turned on. Come to think of it, he never thought of himself being in a situation such as this. He was the one who people would talk about experiences like these with, not have them and not with someone like Yagami Taichi. But here he was. He didn't want this to stop, if only Taichi would let his arms go! But he didn't see that happening, the brunet was a huge tease.  
  
Koushiro felt his heart beating faster than ever before. His stomach was filled his so many butterflies, if Taichi wasn't atop of him he may have flown away. But the brunet continued to tease him, running his tongue seductively over Koushiro's pale skin, "Ooh.. Ta.. Taichi-san..." he moaned pressing himself as hard as his could against the toned body above him, grinding an area that was beginning to scream for attention.

 

If the quivers and gasps hadn't been exciting enough, it was the little moans coming from Koushiro's lips that were starting to make Taichi's mind fog up. He really wasn't sure what was happening anymore, but it was possibly the most fun he'd ever had in his life.  
  
He was just about to move his lips lower towards the boy's chest, when he felt their hips grind together. Koushiro had pushed up against him, and there was a very firm hardness between them now. Taichi froze and blinked a bit. That wasn't from him...  
  
"K-Koushiro?" Taichi pushed himself up onto his hands and knees above the boy, releasing his friend's hand in the process. Looking down at the redhead, he realized the state he'd put his friend in.  
  
Oh crap, Koushiro was probably going to get really embarrassed and upset. He needed to lighten the mood or something. The last thing he wanted was his friend to be mad at him.  
  
"Wow, I'm pretty good aren't I?" Taichi smirked at him and then stood up, offering him a hand. He had to admit at least to himself though, that he was damn proud! That was honestly the first time he could recall turning someone on, and he'd barely even tried!

 

As Koushiro's foggy mind was beginning to grasp what was actually going on, he secretly wished that it wouldn't stop, everything seemed to end just as quickly as it had begun. Taichi had backed away, allowing reality to smack Koushiro in the face. The brunet was now on his hands and knees and his own arms were now free.  
  
Had this actually just happened? He shook those thoughts away as Taichi stroked his own ego and turned the attention to Koushiro pelvic region where his pajama pants presented a very obvious tent. This almost made the redhead's heart stop. Koushiro's face drained of color before exploding with the biggest blush ever. Taichi came to his feet and offered a hand but Koushiro declined and quickly pulled his baggy shirt over his knees. _‘Oh god...’_ he thought, not even wanting to acknowledge Taichi’s presence anymore and covered his face.  
  
He had never been too humiliated in his life. Why did Taichi have to go and do that? Why did he have to be so good at doing it?  
  
He pulled his hands away from his face, "I-I'm sorry," he said finally coming to his feet, He sighed not really knowing what to say, the color of his face getting brighter, "I didn't... I mean... argh! I.. I c-can't even l-look at you at the moment. I don't really know what to say." With that Koushiro walked quickly out of the room and across the hall to the bathroom. He had to splash some water on his face and get rid of the raging erection Taichi had given him.

 

Taichi watched his friend walk into the bathroom, the sound of the sink running a few seconds later. He was probably splashing cold water on his face to calm down.  
  
The brunet sighed and decided to finish making his bed on the floor. All jokes aside, he really had gone too far... it was just so fun though! How was he expected to stop doing something like that when he was getting such awesome reactions from Koushiro? Even so... his friend was probably really upset now and he owed him an apology.  
  
Now finished making his bed on the floor, Taichi walked over to the bathroom door and knocked gently. "Hey, Koushiro?" He said quietly, not wanting to startle him. Thankfully his friend didn't live with his parents anymore, because this would have all been a lot weirder with them here. "I'm sorry... I really am. I know I went too far, I just got all into it and I kind of stopped thinking."  
  
With a sigh he leaned up against the wall near the door so that his friend could open the door and leave without him being in the way, but also still be close enough to hear his friend if he replied. "Anyway," Taichi continued, "I'll sleep on the floor bed if you want."

 

After Koushiro had calmed himself to a more manageable state, he turned the water off and let out a big sigh. How could he allow himself to get like this? He was so embarrassed he could barely look at himself. He could see that he was still flushed as he grabbed a towel to dry his face.  
  
Not wanting to go back in there just yet he leaned against the wall and tried to put everything into perspective, but was interrupted by Taichi knocking at the door. He didn't reply just yet, he had to really think for a moment. He could hear that his friend was indeed sorry for doing it, but then again Koushiro never tried to stop him either.  
  
Yes, he was humiliated that he had become extremely aroused during this encounter, but he could never deny that he enjoyed every minute of it. Also, if it hadn't been for Taichi stopping he highly doubted he would be against him going farther. After all, he too encouraged this. Taichi just seemed to be good at what he had done, being as inexperienced as he was. It was still easy for Koushiro to lose himself in his touch.  
  
He heard a soft sound on the wall outside of the bathroom and figured that Taichi must have still been out there. Now that he had gained his senses back, he figured that he might as well say something to the brunet. He wasn't mad, he couldn't be, but he figured Taichi should know that. With a sigh he pushed off the wall and opened the door. He didn't see his friend at first, but as he walked out he turned and saw him leaning against the wall. Though he still found looking at him to be difficult, he tried his best to do so.  
  
"Don't..." he replied nervously, "don't be sorry. It's not your fault... completely." He started walking into the bedroom, but stopped at the doorway, "You proved me wrong though and I am one of my word." he flashed a small smile as he walked into the bedroom.

 

Taichi wasn't sure what to say as his friend walked back into the bedroom. He supposed he was happy that Koushiro didn't seem angry, but at the same time his friend seemed to feel very awkward and uncomfortable. He didn't want anything to come between them like this...  
  
He followed the other boy into the bedroom and shut the door behind him.  
  
"Uh..." Taichi trailed off, not totally sure what his friend meant by being 'one of his word', but figuring it had to do with whether or not they cuddled on the bed. Did the other boy even want him to do that anymore? Had he ever wanted it, or were they just playing games? Well, they were playing games for sure, but... ugh, he was just confused now. He really wished he could read the redhead's mind! Then again, reading all that complicated stuff might overload his brain...  
  
Whatever, worrying about it certainly wasn't going to help the situation. So once Koushiro had moved fully into the room, the brunet sat down on his bed softly. He'd just have to wing this at this point. If Koushiro seemed upset, he'd just get off the bed. Otherwise he'd stay and... see what happened. Or something.  
  
Life needed a fucking manual.

 

Koushiro watched as the brunet settled down on the bed. He figured since Taichi had proven him wrong about the whole "not really wanting him there" thing that it would be alright if he did sleep on the bed. Koushiro's face was still a bit flushed from his whole ordeal and his heart was still beating erratically in his chest. He wasn't as upset as he was embarrassed about what happened. The thoughts were still fresh in his mind.  
  
He just needed to play it as cool as he possibly could. Since it was getting late and his concentration was elsewhere he figured he might as well go to bed and just finish his paper later. If he put in the hours tomorrow he should have no problem making the deadline.  
  
Koushiro walked over to the desk and shut his laptop and turned off the lamp. He walked nervously back to his bed and climbed in next to Taichi, turning the opposite way, facing the window. And even though Koushiro owned a full size bed, he found himself on the edge. He never thought he would be this nervous to sleep next to someone. The redhead could feel Taichi moving about, trying to get situated, "N-night, Taichi-san."

 

Taichi was even more confused than before. Koushiro had seemed to want him there based on his words after he'd left the bathroom, but his actions were speaking quite the opposite. He was pretty much as far away from Taichi as physically possible without falling off the bed entirely, and facing away from him. Was he angry with him but not wanting to make a problem, or was he just really embarrassed still? Taichi figure it was one of those two things, but had no idea which was more likely.  
  
There had to be something he could do to lighten the mood... maybe he could start talking about random shit? Nah, he did that all the time already. Koushiro was probably sick of it by now. Maybe... he could... uh... just turn the opposite way as well and go to sleep? Wouldn't that make it worse though?  
  
Ah screw it, he just needed to make Koushiro relax already.  
  
"Hey, don't be all shy..." Taichi reached over and gripped the boy's shoulders, massaging them at an average pace. He wasn't too firm or too gentle, trying to get it just right. "Just relax, I'm not gonna get all sexual anymore."

 

Don't be shy...? How could he not? He got a... Koushiro's body tensed up slightly as Taichi gripped his shoulder and began massaging him. Koushiro's face was glowing at this point. Though Taichi made it clear he wasn't trying anything be couldn't help, but be tense. He knew at this point Taichi had to be incredibly baffled by his actions. Yes, he was acting a bit strange, but he couldn't help it. He was new to this kind of thing.  
  
He liked Taichi a lot and though the brunet was only messing around his body reacted differently than he had hoped. Koushiro knew that things wouldn't get any better if he didn't relax, as impossible as it may have seemed. He had to admit though, Taichi was good at what he was doing.  
  
Koushiro felt his shoulders begin to relax as Taichi's fingers kneaded at the muscle. He let out a sigh, which seemed to help ease him some. What was he supposed to say about this? What COULD he say? He remained silent for a moment and finally scooted closer to his friend. He didn't face him just yet, "Sorry, Taichi-san. I didn't mean to act the way I did... well, still am, but I had never been so embarrassed. I was totally not expecting _that_ to happen..." he trailed off.  
  
He didn't want Taichi to stop what he was doing, it felt too good, "I am not mad, if that is what you are thinking. I just don't know how to make the situation any less awkward." He hoped that he had cleared some things up. He didn't want his friend to think of him as a total buzz kill.

 

Taichi chuckled a bit and kept kneading the boy's shoulders, hoping he was doing a good job. The way the boy had physically relaxed was a good indicator though. The only problem was that he wasn't used to doing this, and his hands were getting tired.  
  
"You know..." The brunet began, thinking about what he wanted to say. "When I was like, 16 or something, I was sitting in my history class. We had some really old woman as a guest speaker, talking about some war crap or whatever. I clearly wasn't listening, haha... anyway, I tuned her out and was thinking about some porn I'd seen earlier. Totally got a boner in class... and then my teacher calls on me. He's like, 'Taichi you're not paying attention!' Of course I denied this, and he calls me out like 'Yeah okay, why don't you come up to the front of the class and tell us what we've learned about then?' I did everything I could to put off going up to the front. You know, with whining and stalling and stuff. It didn't work so well and finally I stood up praying that, for the love of fucking god, my boner would be gone. Yeah... I guess gods don't love me much. And of course everyone's thinking, why does Taichi have a boner after an old lady was talking to us? It was horrible."  
  
Taichi cracked up and shook his head, still massaging the other boy. If there was one thing he'd learned over the years, it was that if someone else was really embarrassed, the best way to help them get over it was to share an experience of his own that was even worse.  
  
The brunet let himself scoot a bit closer to Koushiro after his story had ended. Even if Koushiro was still embarrassed, he just hoped that the thick cloud of awkwardness would fade. He could practically taste the discomfort in the room.

 

As his friend told him about his humiliating experience, a smile spread across his face, but what made it better was Taichi laughing afterwards, making him chuckle as well. He looked over his shoulder at his friend and shook his head, "Wow, heh, that is pretty bad. That must have been some... good.... porn." he laughed again.  
  
He had to hand it to Taichi, he knew how to make Koushiro feel better. Though he hadn't forgotten about what had happened, he found it easier to talk to him, as well as look at him.  
  
As his friend scooted closer to him, Koushiro turned and face him. He took a minute to let his eye adjust enough to see his friend looking back at him. He wasn't really sure what to say at the moment, so he laid quietly. He was caught off guard when the brunet suddenly wrapped his arm around him. This really had taken him aback. He couldn't deny that he didn't want to be like this, but he was a little confused on why Taichi was doing it. Again, Koushiro felt his face heat up as he felt himself being eased closer to Taichi. That was when it occurred to him what the brunet was doing.  
  
_‘Wait, he still wants to cuddle?’_  
  
"Uh, T-Taichi-san...?"

 

Taichi's arms moved without really meaning to, and before he'd come up with any sort of plan, he'd wrapped his arms around the other boy's body. The way Koushiro stuttered against him was adorable, though Taichi wasn't going to say that to him so bluntly. That would most certainly make this already extremely awkward situation even worse.  
  
"Ah..." The brunet trailed off, trying to think of how to explain himself. "You said I could do this, right? I mean if you don't want me to I'll stop, but... I didn't think you'd mind is all."  
  
Mmm... Koushiro smelled nice. It wasn't one of those strong cologne smells that made you want to barf, but he clearly was clean. Maybe it was his shampoo or deodorant, or something. Could be a fairly strong soap, he supposed. Well whatever it was, he liked it quite a bit.

 

Koushiro chuckled dryly, "No, I, honestly, wasn't expecting you to still want to go through with it."  
  
He was thankful that it was dark because Taichi would probably comment on the big grin on his already flushed face. Gah! Why did he have to get so flustered about this? He had to stop acting like such a girl. He cleared his throat and look straight ahead at Taichi's chest, "I don't mind... anymore..." placing an arm around his friend's waist.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> R.I.P. Toshiko Fujita, Taichi’s Japanese voice of seasons one and two


	11. I'm Just the Words, You Are the Sound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taichi and Koushiro...watch movies...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! SO sorry about the lack of updates lately. I was super sick for a while, but all is good now! Regular updates should be back on track now. Also, a little trivia, the movie they watch was actually inspired by a homemade horror movie my cousin's co-worker made. It was probably the funniest thing I had ever seen.  
> ANYWAYS! I hope you enjoy it!  
> -Tabi (highgreenbunny)

Koushiro was so glad that he was finally able to finish that stupid paper. Normally sitting for hours on end at the computer until his ass would fall asleep, didn't really bother him. However, when it came to these repetitive papers that were obviously assignments that were there to make him overthink and repeat himself constantly throughout, those were nothing more than a pain in the ass due to the fact they were absolutely pointless. But still, they were a large factor on his grade point average.  
  
Now with a big workload off of him, he can finally enjoy a day of doing just about nothing. He had spoken to Taichi about the possibility of him coming over that day, but there was nothing concrete. It was strange that ever since that night things got a little hot and heavy between him and the brunet, everything seemed to have gone back to normal.  
  
They didn't really speak about it and Taichi hadn't tried doing anything. Which seemed a little unlike Taichi, because the brunet loved the entertainment, he was sure of that. Then again, Koushiro didn't complain for the most part either.  
  
The redhead sat on the couch and flipped through the channels trying to find something to watch, but it all that was on was crap TV. He chuckled to himself at the thought that while he was doing his papers, Taichi was bouncing off the wall in his apartment, but now that he was finished with them and had nothing to do, his friend was nowhere in sight.

 

'Bored' didn't really cover how Taichi felt at the moment. 'Painfully miserable' was more accurate. There was just nothing to do! His parents were at work, Hikari was at school, Yamato wasn't answering his phone, neither was anyone else that would have been fun to hang out with, there wasn't anything good on TV, and he was sick of his video games. He hadn't called Koushiro yet but that was because he knew he had that big paper to write, and he didn't want to bother him while he knew the other was very busy.  
  
Having no classes that day really sucked, which wasn't something he ever thought he'd say. He didn't dislike college, but everyone liked a day off! Not this particular day, though. Well, he supposed he could do the homework he'd been assigned in his afternoon class.  
  
"Agh!" Taichi rubbed his face with his hands. What was he thinking?! You don't do homework on days off! You cram that shit into your morning before class, or right before bed or... something. But not on a day off! His boredom was messing with his head...  
  
Taichi reached into his phone and dialed his best friend's phone number, no longer caring about how busy he probably was. He waited until he heard the start of Koushiro's usual greeting, and then cut him off before he could even finishing speaking.  
  
"I don't care about your stupid paper anymore, Koushiro!" Taichi sighed and flopped back down onto the couch. "I'm bored out of my mind! There is nothing to do... and I just considered doing my homework on a _day off_!"  
  
Without considering the fact that Koushiro most likely did his own homework on his days off, Taichi continued. "Come overrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" He let himself drag the whine out, pleading with his best friend desperately.

 

Koushiro chuckled as his friend insisted he came over. It had been a moment since he had been to Taichi's apartment because lately the brunette had been slinking around his. He shook his head, "Taichi-san, I am finished with my paper. I finished last night. But since you obviously miss me that much, I suppose I can make the trip," he joked, "because let the skies cloud over and strike Taichi-san down because he actually did homework on a day off."

 

Taichi laughed as he hung up the phone. Clouded skies and lighting strikes indeed, for Yagami Taichi did _not_ do homework on a day off. That's what people like, well, Koushiro did.

 

After hanging up with his friend, he headed back to his bedroom to see what he could possibly find to wear. Due to his immense schedule and other distractions, Koushiro found himself slacking a bit in housekeeping, mainly laundry. And since his apartment didn't have a laundry room, he had to drive to one, which was about 15 minutes away, depending on traffic. So, he had to make do with what he had, because for the first day in a long time, he was able to be lazy, in fact, he was surprise Taichi wanted him to come over and it wasn't the other way around.  
  
He pushed aside the sea of empty hanger and started searching for something that didn't make him look like a total tool. He loved his mother, but before he left for college, she felt the need to buy him a new wardrobe. Most of which were name brand clothes he would never consider wearing. He wasn't too hard to please when it came to clothes. He hardly left the apartment unless it was for class or he was hanging out with Taichi, since he was pretty the much the only one to ever visit him, beside Jyou on very rare occasion.  
  
After scanning the pretty much empty closet, he finally settled with a plain green pull over and jeans, "I have really got to do laundry," he complained as he got dressed.  
  
After gathering his wallet and keys, he locked the door as he left. It didn't feel too bad outside, not too warm, not to cold, so it wasn't a concern of his that he left his jacket. It didn't occur to him until he was half way there on what they were going to do once he arrived. Though he had to admit he didn't really care, he was just happy to be going over there at all. He didn't have any other plans and wanted to see the brunet anyways.  
  
It seemed like it didn't take long at all for him to get there, even though it was a bit of a drive. He backed his car into the parking spot and made his way to the apartment.

 

The brunet paced about his apartment, still with nothing at all interesting to do except now he was waiting for his friend to arrive. Luckily the weather was nice today, so Koushiro wouldn't be too inconvenienced from the trip. They should go do something... but what? He really hadn't thought about it, he was just so bored that he needed company.  
  
Koushiro didn't like activities involving a lot of exercise, so things like soccer were out. He saved that for chilling with Daisuke anyway. Koushiro was a bit tricky when it came to going places or hanging out at home. He liked a lot of things that you wouldn't expect him to like, and also hated a lot of things you figured he'd have enjoyed the most. Luckily, Taichi was an expert on Koushiro. He was probably the _only_ expert on him, actually...  
  
As the brunet pondered the different things they could do, the time went by quicker than expected, and suddenly there was a knock on the door. So he ran over to it and turned the deadbolt.  
  
"Hey!" Taichi grinned and pulled his friend into the apartment, locking the door behind him. "So I was thinking... movie shuffle?"  
  
They had this thing where the two of them would pick a random movie neither of them knew anything about from the Free On-Demand movie list and just... watch it. They couldn't read the description for the movie, only the title. They also had to watch all of it. Under no circumstances could they quit the movie early. Koushiro's reactions to most of the movies they ended up watching was where the majority of Taichi's enjoyment in this activity came from. Especially when they got a cheesy, low budget horror flick.  
  
"Or we could do whatever, I really don't care." Taichi nudged his friend's arm and gave a silly grin, relieved to have someone else in the house finally.

 

Before Koushiro knew what was going on, Taichi had pulled him into the apartment and locked the door like he was in the middle of a hostage exchange. Koushiro kicked his shoes off as Taichi asked he would like to do a Movie Shuffle.  
  
"Movie shuffle..., "He said thinking for a moment before nodding, "Sure, that’s find with me. I actually had no plans to leave my couch today anyways, but I suppose your couch will do."  
  
It had been a while since they had while since they had actually done one. The bad thing was the last movie he chose, by accident, was a horrible low budget American horror movie called Bojangles. The movie was so bad that it was painful. It wasn't even worth making fun of. All it was was a man dressed in a bad clown suit that chased women, who were running incredibly slow, around a small backyard. Also, the majority of the movie was a group of people sitting around smoking pot and fornicating. The thought made Koushiro shudder with regret.  
  
The redhead sat down on the couch, "So do you wanna pop some popcorn or something before we get started or just dive on in?"

 

Taichi didn't have to think hard about that question. "I'll make popcorn! You should find the movie while I do that, since I picked it last time." The brunette then made his way into the kitchen and pulled out the box of popcorn, and shoved a bag into the microwave.  
  
The brunet waited quite impatiently and found himself glaring at the un-popping bag of popcorn through the microwave window. It just took so long for it to start popping, but then once it had, it was done in like, seconds! You really had to keep an eye on it or it would burn while your back was turned...  
  
The first pop sounded finally, followed by an explosion of many others, and then suddenly only a few pops here and there were heard. Taichi quickly opened the microwave and pulled out the bag. Then he poured the contents into a large bowl.

 

As Taichi left the room Koushiro loaded the On-Demand menu and began scrolling through the list. He averted his eyes to the ceiling and counted to 10 to himself before stopping. He stopped on a movie called "Midnight Menace". He knew it had to be some cheesy horror flick because of the name. He noticed when they did these movie roulette that nothing good ever came out of it, but then again they were free movies.  
  
He waited patiently for the brunet to return with the popcorn and settle down on the couch, placing the bowl between them. He smiled at Taichi's reaction to the movie, because they seemed to share the same thought.

  
            "So!" Taichi called out into the living room as he made his way back towards the couch. "Did you close your eyes and pick one yet?"  
  
Their system had pretty much always been to view the "all movies" in the free on-demand list, and just scroll down with eyes closed. If it reached the bottom of the list it went back up to the top, so you had no real way of knowing where you were when you let go. The only time they ever re-did it was if one of them had seen the movie already.  
  
Taichi looked at the name of the movie on the screen, with the selector arrow pointing at it. "Midnight Menace? The fuck is that?" Well, at least he knew he hadn't seen it yet.

 

"Yeah, that's what I landed on. It sounds like a real winner," he said sarcastically.  
  
He hit play on the menu and sat the remote on the coffee table. He grabbed a hand full of popcorn and popped a few kernels in his mouth as the screen went dark and some low quality credits appeared and some over dramatic music faded in. As he watched the credits, he could see that there was obviously no one he recognized. Even though the only time he ever really watched horror movies was with either Taichi or Yamato.  
  
He hardly ever watched movies with Daisuke. He loved the kid, but he wouldn't ever stop talking during the movie. He would question everything or have a comment about every little detail. It was hard to enjoy movies with him. And he never watched anything like this with Jyou. He mainly wanted to watch documentaries, even though some were interesting, that was all he would watch.  
  
Koushiro watched as a scene, filmed in a low resolution camera, of a bloody bath tub illuminated by a flickering red light and the sounds of some gruesome snapping could be heard. The redhead couldn't help but flinch at the sound.  
  
"That sounds so gross..." he whispered.  
  
Suddenly the screen goes black and unsteady white texts that read ‘One Week Earlier...’ appeared.

 

Taichi sat back against the couch and munched on popcorn, far more entertained by the taste of his snack than this movie so far. He almost laughed at the other boy for finding the cheesy sounds gross. It was just so fake and unoriginal, and it hadn't even been five minutes yet! This didn't bode well for their next hour and a half or so...  
  
When a stupid looking blond girl with very little clothing on appeared on the scene, the brunet rolled his eyes. Why did horror movies always, ALWAYS have to have a stupid airheaded cheerleader in the cast? They never did anything more than whine, bitch, complain, fuck the main male character, sometimes fuck _all_ of the other characters, and then die after backing up into a dark hallway that the villain was waiting in. Couldn't they, just once, make that character have brown hair? Or be Asian? Or Indian or a boy or what-the-fuck-EVER it didn't matter, just stray from the mold at ALL?  
  
Yeah... he was kind of bored now. Taichi's attention moved over to Koushiro, who look equally irritated with the lack of originality in this movie. The rules were the rules though... they couldn't shut it off, no matter what. Well... except like, a fire in the house or something.  
  
Taichi yawned and stretched his arms up in the air, allowing his left hand to land behind Koushiro's shoulders once he was done. He really hadn't intended to do that, but hey now that he was there, he may as well stay. So he scooted a bit closer to the boy.

 

Koushiro's eyes stayed on the screen, as painful as it was as he sat back. He could hear Taichi yawning already. The two had watched some bad movies on here before, but he was beginning to believe this was the worst. The main girl, obviously the stereotypical bouncing, well endowed, cheerleader, was now on the phone with a friend. The girl on the phone began speaking of a member of their squad being viciously killed in her home the night before.  
  
However, it was hard to take it seriously due to the horrible acting. Why did this blonde girl have to bounce every time she walked? Koushiro sat back, not taking notice that the brunet beside him was now closer and his arm was resting on the back of the couch, until now.  
  
He didn't mind it too much since this was pretty much normal when they watched movies, except he never really got that close. He didn't pay too much attention to it and turned back to the movie, "Sorry, but this film is probably one of the worst ones yet."  
  
It was then that Koushiro noticed his friend was finding something else to occupy his mind. Koushiro felt Taichi's fingers playing with his hair, causing the redhead to tense up slightly.

 

Taichi frowned at the television screen as the plot played out before them. So some cheerleaders were being targeted by a murderer or something, and little Miss Jiggle-Chest just wouldn't stop shaking herself around for camera attention.  
  
His fingers began fiddling with something nearby as his friend said something about the movie being really bad. "Heh, I wonder just how bad it will get." Taichi laughed to try and stay motivated to continue. Maybe he could make a game out of how bad it was, somehow. Like every time one of them predicted something and it happened they got a point. Whoever had less points by the end bought dinner. Hah, he should tell Koushiro about-  
  
His friend tensed up next to him for some reason, which Taichi wasn't entirely sure about. He looked down at him and gave him a confused look, his little game idea forgotten. It was then that he realized what his fingers had been messing around with all this time...  
  
"Ahh..." Taichi pulled his hand away from the boy's hair. "Sorry, was spacing out there, didn't realize... uh..." Then a smirk formed on his face, a fun idea popping into his mind. "I mean, unless you want me to keep doing it, that is."  
  
Ah, it was just so fun to tease Koushiro.

 

The redhead could see exactly where his friend was heading for. The last time they joked around like this, things got a little out of hand and it left him embarrassed and pretty much a total wreck. Koushiro, though tense, sat back where he was more into Taichi's touch, "As long as it doesn't interrupt this _masterpiece_ of a movie, I don't care what you do." he replied coolly.  
  
He hoped that what he had just said didn't come back to haunt him. He knew how Taichi liked to play games... boy, did he know. Though the last time he couldn't put the entire blame on Taichi, he had his hand in that as well. Anyways, if his friend did try anything, he wouldn't let him get away with it this time.  
  
He turned his attention, as best as he could, back to the movie. As of right now, the other cheerleaders had joined their friend at her house and were now doing the stereotypical girl's slumber party. They were unaware of the "killer" now trying to break into the house... which he seemed to not be doing so well... oh god, the guy playing the killer pulled out a pair of house keys from his pocket.  
  
This guy obliviously has locked himself out of his house and now the cameraman is laughing and the camera is shaking a lot. Koushiro chuckled wryly at how bad this movie was getting.  
  
He could feel Taichi's fingers still combing through his hair and ghosting around the nape of his neck. Why did Taichi's touch... just feel so damn good?

 

There really was nothing about this movie that was keeping the brunet's attention. He watched it to an extent, but most of his attention was on Koushiro. It wasn't difficult to see that the boy liked the way his fingers worked gently at his scalp. He wasn't even sure if the other had noticed the way he was rolling his head back slightly to increase the sensation.  
  
Koushiro was just so much more interesting right now...  
  
The brunet turned the other boy's body without asking, so that Koushiro's back was facing him on the couch. He brought both of his hands up to his head and, with just the tips of his fingers, fanned out his hands. Very lightly he ran them along the skin under the boy's hair, enjoying the way the redhead shivered beneath his touch.  
  
His hands moved downward until they reached Koushiro's shoulders and upper back, massaging firmly. He'd given quite a few massages to Hikari over the years, so he was pretty sure he was doing at least a halfway decent job. At the very least, this had to be better for his friend than this clearly home-made movie was.  
  
"Feel free to direct me here..." Taichi offered, just in case he was pushing too hard, or maybe even too soft.

 

Koushiro tried his best to keep his attention on the movie in front of him. He didn't mind too much that Taichi turned him and despite the fact that what his friend was doing was far better than the movie they were watching, he tried to keep his focus, "Mm.. You can just keep doing what you are doing..." he said, his voice slightly more relaxed.  
  
He was amazed Taichi didn't go this for a living, but then again, he could kind of understand. He would feel uncomfortable rubbing some creepy, gross guy's shoulders and have him asking for a happy ending. That thought was quickly pushed out of his mind when the brunet began kneading the area between his shoulder blades as his other hand continued massaging his scalp, causing Koushiro's eyes to slide shut as he let out a long sigh/moan.  
  
"Not going to lie to you... this feels pretty good," he said, no longer paying attention to the movie.  
  
He hoped that this was all Taichi was planning on doing, like last time, and he would try anything.

 

Taichi was happy to hear the other enjoying his hands so much. He was certainly trying his best, and the way Koushiro moaned under his touch encouraged his continuation.  
  
That moan encouraged other things as well.  
  
A kind of teasing excitement filled the brunet's chest, and he let his hands slowly move downward. His fingers ran across the middle of the boy's back, and then down even lower. Before he'd thought much about what he was doing, his hands were firmly on the boy's hips. Every time a moan escaped the redhead's lips, Taichi wanted to make it louder.  
  
His lips hovered near the other boy's ear, and a soft chuckle left them. Koushiro seemed to shiver as hot air slid over his earlobe, and the brunet shut his eyes. He felt his body move on its own, and the next thing he was aware of was lowering Koushiro down onto his back next to him on the couch, and then letting his tongue slide over his neck.  
  
His mind was muddled and intoxicated, and his hands were now back on the boy's hips. His tongue worked at the skin, and his legs were between Koushiro's as he leaned over him.

 

At this point Koushiro did not know what to think. He was now on his back and Taichi was on top of him. The brunette's hot breath and sensual touches were clouding his mind. He moaned as Taichi's tongue traced over the muscles of his neck. It was at this time that his hands began to press through his friend's messy hair.  
  
Despite how good his touch felt, Koushiro knew that he allow his friend to win again. Koushiro somehow found his shaky hands sliding under Taichi's shirt and playing with his hot, smooth skin along his side, earning a moan from the body above him. He made him do that! This made Koushiro's chest flutter. He wanted to do it again.  
  
The redhead's fingers moved towards the front and began to roam around Taichi's abdomen. He was amazed how someone so lazy could remain so fit. Again that thought didn't last too long as Taichi's teeth nipped at a sensitive spot on his neck causing Koushiro to moan again as well as his hips to buck slightly  
  
He always figured that would be a turn off, but it was quite the opposite, it was very encouraging.  
  
At this point he felt as if he were in no comparison to his friend's impressive abilities to turn someone one. He pushed Taichi up slowly, where he was on his knees in front of him, and left enough space to between them to pull his shirt over his head and tossed it somewhere... well he didn't care where it landed. His hand ran over his friend's chest lightly before resting over his shoulders.  
  
His face was completely flushed at this point as he looked up at his friend who had a smirk on his face. Without second thought, and despite the fact that his heart was pounding against his ribcage, Koushiro gave a devilish grin and pressed his friend back slightly, leaning forward and pressed his tongue against the center of Taichi's dark chest and trailed upwards until their lips met.

 

Taichi felt a fire light inside of him. It had been hot enough, the way Koushiro had pulled his shirt off like that and trailed his thin fingers along his chest. But when the boy had actually leaned up and connected their lips, that's when the heat really rose. Koushiro was... trying to show him up, wasn't he?  
  
Oh, it was fucking _on_.  
  
With a deep, low growl, the brunet shoved the redhead back down onto the couch and roughly pulled the boy's shirt off, throwing it carelessly onto the floor. Then he fiercely reconnected their lips. He leaned over him, forcing him down onto the cushion while his tongue made its way into his mouth. Both hands gripped at shoulders to keep his friend pinned down underneath him.  
  
"Nng..." Taichi moaned through the kiss. "Kou... Koushir... shiro..."  
  
His hands now roamed wildly over bare skin while his tongue explored the other boy's hot mouth. His head was spinning and his heart beating rapidly against his chest. He knew he was getting quite noticeably hard, but he didn't care. He really didn't care about anything anymore.

 

Though he pretty much asked for it, Koushiro was not expecting his friend to jump right into this, let alone be the one to slip his tongue into Koushiro's mouth.  
  
Koushiro found Taichi's animalistic passions quite alluring. He had never seen his friend in such a state. Yes, he teased him before, but not to the point where he, too, lost himself as well. The way he moaned his name sent shivers through the redhead causing him to press their bodies together as close as he could get them and his tongue explored every inch of his friends mouth dauntlessly.  
  
At this point Koushiro’s head was swimming in a mixture of passion and pure lust. He wanted to feel more of Taichi. His back arched slightly, feeling that the brunet was just as turned on as he was. He pressed forward again, moaning into Taichi's mouth as their hips ground together.

 

Taichi's mental facilities were pretty much entirely lost. In the back of his mind he kind of thought that he'd been trying to prove something with all of this or... something... eh, whatever, that whole idea was lost to him now. It clearly didn't matter to Koushiro anymore!  
  
There was a bang from somewhere, but the brunet didn't give it any thought.  
  
When the redhead's hot moan filled his mouth and he ground up at Taichi's hips, the brunet could feel how hard both of them were now. He let his arm wrap around the other boy's back to keep his chest arched like that, firmly grinding his own hips and hardness down against him in return.  
  
He felt drunk with lust, once again ignoring the banging sound from off somewhere. His head was dizzy and everything around him swam, just like when he'd had too much alcohol. It had happened many times, but having it happen like this? Now that had certainly not happened to him before.  
  
A deep moan escaped his lips as he pulled back for a second to get some air. Then he dove back into it, their lips smacking as he moved his head from side to side. His hands roam down to the hem of the other's pants, and his fingers slid just a tiny bit under the waistband.

 

Koushiro couldn't believe this was happening. Never in his life would he believe he would be fiercely making out with his best friend and he to be the one starting it! His body, inside and out, burned with lust. He had lost all apprehension that had plagued him before. He seemed to like this game a lot more since it wasn't as one-sided as the last time Taichi had brought him to this state.  
  
Taichi's hot hands propped his back up, making their heaving chests press forcefully together as their hips ground together. God, how he wanted Taichi to touch him so badly!

 

Holy shit Koushiro was sexy. How had he never noticed this before? If he just pulled down a little on his pants, then maybe he could see-  
  
"Taichi!" A familiar voice hollered through the door, and all at once the brunet snapped back to reality. That banging had been knocking, and that voice was Hikari's. That's right...! She had said she'd stop by to get the homework that she'd left at his place!  


It seemed to be at that moment that his prayers were to be answered. He felt the brunet shift slightly and his hot hand beginning to pull at Koushiro's pants, easing his hand under his waistband of his boxers. This excitement was short lived as Taichi practically sprang to his feet with the look of pure shock on his face. It was then that Koushiro realized what happened as he heard Hikari calling for her brother through the front door.

  
"Shit!" Taichi leapt up off the couch and had started towards the front door, when he realized he couldn't just open it yet... he still had a massive boner! "Fuck, fuck..." Taichi took many deep breaths, but it wasn't helping. "One sec Hikari gotta pee! Not gonna make it!" He hollered but instead ran over to the back door and walked outside, the freezing cold air causing shivers to run all over his skin.  
  
Yep, that worked. Taichi ran to the bathroom and flushed the toilet just in case she could hear it, and then ran back over to the front door. "Sorry!" He apologized as he opened the door, giving his sister a nice big grin.  
  
"You didn't wash your hands, that's so gross!" Hikari scowled and shoved him towards the bathroom, Taichi groaning along the way.

 

His blood ran cold at the sound of the child of light beckoning at the entrance, seeing how both of them were both incredibly aroused at that moment. Taichi seemed to come up with a quick solution by running outside and letting the cool air hit him, before answering the door.  
  
Koushiro on the other hand wasn't so quick to react due to his nervousness, as his friend answered the door he quickly grabbed a pillow that had fallen on the floor in the midst of their make out session and held it in his lap and proceeded to pretend to watch the horrible movie that attempted to earlier.  
  
As Hikari pushed her brother towards the bathroom he looked at her and smiled nervously, "H-hey Hikari-san. H-how h-have y-y-ou been?" he asked, his voice uneven and his body still shaken.

 

Taichi watched as the other boy stammered helplessly, and then as Hikari frowned a bit. Oh god, he knew that face. That was the face his overly perceptive sister made when she was on to him and suspected something! And she pretty much always managed to figure it out too!  
  
"HEY HIKARI COME HERE AND LOOK AT THIS!" Taichi got between Koushiro and her soul penetrating gaze, grabbing her arm and yanking her down the hallway towards his bedroom. His poor friend didn't know how to escape the scorching eyes as well as he did... you just had to not look at them! Oh god... don't ever look at them or all your secrets will be revealed...  
  
"EW!" Hikari whined and managed to wiggle free of his grasp. "Don't touch me with your pee hands! Wash them or I'm not doing anything with you!"  
  
"Well then you better wash your pee arm now that I touched it, you dirty skank." Taichi smirked and then cringed as she proceeded to smack at him. The two of them laughed a bit and washed up in the bathroom, and then the brunet shoved his sister into his bedroom.

 

Koushiro had a wave of relief when Taichi, seeing his panic and flustered state, drew attention away from him, giving him some time to compose himself and calm down to a more manageable state. He couldn't help, but laugh as the two. He knew that Taichi and Hikari were very close and he could help but envy their relationship since he didn't have any siblings himself.

 

Ah shit... what should he have her look at though? He'd just acted like he had something super cool for her to see but he really didn't... he just didn't want her to figure out what had just been going on.  
  
"Ah..." Taichi turned his computer on and then brought up his funny picture folder, hoping to find something she might enjoy. He opened a random meme. "Here, look! It's funny!"  
  
"Uh..." Hikari looked at it for a bit, and then gave him a weird look. "That's... funny?"  
  
"God you're so lame..." Taichi rolled his eyes and picked up her homework, shoving it into her hands. "Be gone with you, humorless demon!"  
  
"Demon? Really? You call a girl with the crest of Light a demon-?"  
  
"BE GONE WITH YOU, WITCH!" Taichi shoved her back towards the living room, his sister chuckling and shaking her head along the way. "Now Koushiro and I were watching this... movie... yeah I was going to call it amazing but I just can't even pretend that it's good..."  
  
"Well if it's so bad why don't you shut it off?" Hikari raised an eyebrow as she opened the front door and turned back to look at them.  
  
"Oh... shut up Hikari!" Taichi stuck his tongue out at his sister playfully, "You and your common sense bullshit."  
  
Hikari laughed and stuck her tongue back out at him, and then left the apartment, shutting the door with a snap behind her.  
  
Taichi looked over at Koushiro, a massive wave of awkwardness hitting him. Shit... what should he say now? His eyes blinked a bit and he fiddled with his fingers, still not sure what to say. "Well uh..." He finally managed to get out of his mouth, a grin forming on his face. "I saved you from the perception monster!"

 

After Hikari left and Taichi settled back down on the couch, he could feel the awkwardness set in. After a brief moment the brunette broke the silence with a cocky remark. Koushiro shook his head, averting his gaze for a moment. A grin spread across his lips, "Well... I was in no condition to do it myself... thanks to you."  
  
He sat back on the couch, his face still flushed, "I must admit though... it was way more entertaining than this movie."

 

"No thanks to me?" Taichi raised an eyebrow. "Oh you totally provoked me! You had it coming, and you know you did." The brunet gave his friend a playful nudge on the shoulder, turning off the shitty movie that was still playing on the TV.  
  
The brunet felt awkwardness creep up his chest as no words were exchanged. Maybe he'd gone too far with that last act? He wasn't sure honestly. It had been incredibly fun, and Koushiro didn't seem to be upset that he'd done it. He knew for a fact the boy had been enjoying it... eh, whatever, he wasn't going to think about it too much.  
  
"Well, since that movie ended up being a big pile of trash." Taichi turned to face the other boy on the couch. "What else should we do?"

 

Koushiro blushed when Taichi asked him what he wanted to do. He couldn't just say 'Let's finish what we started!' Though he had a lot of fun he couldn't bring himself to do that. He sighed in thought, trying to figure us what they should do. It was then, his mind now clear, that a scary thought crossed his mind, "Uhh... Taichi-san, you don't think Hikari-san knows anything ... do you?"  
  
Koushiro leaned down and picked up his shirt that had been discarded during their make out session and pulled it over his head, "I mean, we were both kinda acting weird and you seemed a bit hurried."  
  
He sat back down beside his friend and tried to keep the fact that he was still intensely flustered at bay. He began to think of the fact of the other Chosen Children knowing he was gay... He didn't see them turning away from him, but he did see it being equally as awkward with them as it is right now between Taichi and himself.  
  
_‘This was a one time thing.’_ he sighed, painfully reminding himself, ‘ _I suppose it is something I probably shouldn't worry myself over...’_  
  
He looked over at Taichi, "Anyways, I don't know what we could do. Got any new video games?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments are not required but very much appreciated. Next week we will be getting back to Daisuke and Ken.


	12. When I’m Next to You... (optional chapter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So... here is more sex. Even if this is an optional chapter I will say that certain elements will resurface later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating for a while. Things have been hectic for the both of us! Also, if you aren't wanting to read awesome sex than you may skip this chapter and a summary of any plot points will be at the beginning of the next chapter. -Tabi

Ken's pencil scribbled against the paper at the library desk. He was the only one in there, as it was over an hour after school now and even the librarian had gone home. Since he was waiting for Daisuke anyway, he figured he may as well just work on some of his homework. He got so much of it in High School compared to previous schools it was ridiculous. He understood the point of it, but some days there were just hours and hours piled up on him.  
  
Of course, he knew he was getting into that situation when he'd signed up for advanced classes. So he really didn't have much of a right to complain.  
  
He glanced up at the clock and sighed. What was taking his boyfriend so damned long? He'd been told why the other was staying after class before, but he honestly couldn't remember anymore. This left him no idea on how much longer Daisuke would be.  
  
Luckily for him, only about three more minutes passed before the redhead walked into the library where they had agreed to meet up at.  
  
"Hey!" Ken smiled and quickly shoved his books and work into his backpack and strung it over his shoulders. He paused and looked around for a second, and then gave the other boy a lingering kiss. "I totally forget what you've even been doing all this time now..." Ken laughed and blushed a bit once they'd parted.

 

 

Daisuke smiled against his love's lips and pressed back with equal passion before pulling away, "I told you I had a test to make up from where I was in the hospital," he replied, pressing their lips back together.  
  
It was nice to be able to kiss his boyfriend in a public place... even though that public place was empty. He began to wonder when it would be appropriate to tell the others they were dating, even though he didn't care whether they accepted it or not, he didn’t think that it would be something they could keep secret for a long time anyways.  
  
He could only imagine their reaction. Seeing how they reacted to finding out he had been in the hospital for being a thrill junkie and climbed onto the roof of a moving vehicle and end up almost killing himself when he fell off. The entire lunch period, all of his friends, except Ken, proceeded to dig into his ass about how stupid he was for doing what he did. They didn't seem to back off until he mentioned V-mon.  
  
When he brought up their Digital partners, was when everyone seemed to calm down. They all missed their partners deeply. Hikari and Takeru, like Taichi and Koushiro, knew the hurt more than Iori and Miyako, seeing how they have lost them twice. Eventually before the lunch period was over, the subject had dropped and everyone pretty much remained quiet for the rest of the time.

 

Though it was his second day back after, it seemed like the day would never end. He was happy because he knew that he would be able to go home with Ken. It had been roughly a week since Ken had come to stay with him. And what a week it had been!

 

 

      Daisuke's lips on his consumed his mind and Ken found himself not really caring what his boyfriend's reason for staying late was anymore. He did vaguely recall the other boy telling him something about a makeup test because of his injuries, but... eh... whatever...  
  
His resolve to just kiss his boyfriend for the rest of the night broke quickly though, Ken finding himself becoming more conscious about their environment. He pulled away to look around the library they were currently making out in. Getting caught was definitely not something he wanted. That wasn't exactly the way he wanted to come out to others...  
  
"S-Sorry, I just don't want to get caught." Ken apologized to Daisuke, genuinely wanting to continue but finding it too nerve wracking to do so. The look in his boyfriend's eyes was... greedy, though. He knew Daisuke wanted to keep going.  
  
"So uh, how did your test go?" Ken offered, trying to just change the subject. "Do you think you passed it? If you need any help I'd be glad to try."

 

 

Though Daisuke could understand Ken's reason to stop... who was he kidding? They were alone; he wasn't going to give up that easily. The cinnamon haired teen gave a half-assed answer. Something like "I did okay" or "It was okay" before pressing his lips to Ken's again, slipping his tongue into his boyfriend's mouth. He wrapped his arms around the other's slender waist and pressed against him, moaning into his mouth.  
  
He could feel Ken's slight resistance to doing this in public so he pulled away, but kept his arms around him, "C'mon, love, there is nobody here." He didn't know that for sure, the classroom he was in was on the second floor on the other side of the school, so even if the teacher was still there, he highly doubted he would come their way.  
  
Daisuke leaned in and ran his tongue over the shell of the indigo haired teen's ear, earning a giggle from him, before he began placing kisses on his neck. Daisuke slipped his hand under Ken's uniform shirt, teasing the skin on his abdomen, moving up to his chest, "Well?"

 

 

Ken was about to praise him for doing well on his test and ask when he'd get his results back, when the other boy was on him again, this time connecting their tongues. He hadn't really meant to moan into his boyfriend's mouth, and immediately after he'd done so he stiffened up.  
  
Hearing the other's assuring words just left him feeling confused. He did want to, but... but they weren't even in a room with a closed door! The library door was wide open to the hallway, and-!  
  
Daisuke's lips were on him again. Ken bit his bottom lip and closed his eyes halfway, running his hands through his boyfriend's hair. He felt lips on his neck and hands moving up his shirt, and a strong heat filling his body. Well, that and his...  
  
"I-I..." Ken pushed away and blushed, trying to get his bearings back. "It's not... it's not that I don't want to, okay? We're just in the library, Daisuke! We should go somewhere else at least..." Ken thought about where they could go to. The problem was that the Motomiya family was home right now. They were probably watching that game show they really liked that was on right now. That really didn't leave them too many options...  
  
"I don't really know where, though..." Ken finally admitted with a sigh. "Maybe we should just stop."

 

 

Argh! Ken was like totally cock-blocking him! He sighed, thinking of what he could possibly say to make Ken change his mind. The thought of them messing around in the library was indeed exciting. Of course sex, or messing around in general, with Ken anywhere was exciting to Daisuke.  
  
In fact, ever since they started having sex, he had been thinking on places that they could do it. The school was one place he thought of and could never really think of a good place while it was in session and they could do a quickie. However, after everyone was gone, he didn't care, he'd fuck Ken in the hallway if he ever had the chance.  
  
He knew though that this would probably be their only opportunity today unless they wanted to wait until everyone was asleep tonight and Daisuke definitely didn't wanna wait that long.  
  
"Well..." he thought, not going to give up so easily. As he tried coming up with something he began placing small kisses on his neck, as well as rub the back of his hand on the front of Ken's uniform pants, trying to encourage him into it.  
  
He smiled as his friend tensed up at his touch, but then backed away from him again. Daisuke let out a slightly frustrated sigh, "Okay fine, What do you think we should do?" he finally asked.

 

"I..." Ken thought about the question for a moment, but was having trouble with it. His mind was all foggy now and his body was... wanting to do things. Thoughts like that easily overpowered the brain's ability to function, and it was making it much harder to think of a response.  
  
He did want to mess around with Daisuke, and it had been a while since they'd been able to, what with his family always being home and all. That was one nice thing about his place, he had to admit... at least his parents were gone all the time. The Motomiya house though... someone was always home at all times of the day, it seemed. No wonder Daisuke always wanted to be outside.  
  
"I just don't want to do stuff like that in here, where the door is wide open," Ken explained and looked around. "Even a closet would be better, or a classroom with a closing door, but... the library? It's just too public for me to get into it, I'm sorry."  
  
Ken fiddled with his fingers, feeling horrifically lame. He wasn't trying to ruin the mood like this, he just wasn't into the idea of the librarian coming back, or a student who was also staying late coming to use the library, and catching them doing... whatever it was they were going to do?  
  
"What uh..." Ken started. "I mean, how far are you even trying to take this...?"

 

Daisuke thought for a moment. How far did he want to take this? That wasn't hard. He would take it as far as he could go. He knew that Ken felt uncomfortable with the idea of being exposed intimately in public.  
  
"Hmmm," he began thinking of where they could go, "how about one of the conference rooms? Maybe she didn't lock them."  
  
Not really giving Ken a chance to answer or really answering his question, Daisuke sprang across the library to see if the librarian did in fact leave the doors unlocked. He began to get excited to see that she did indeed do so. Daisuke knew their librarian had a bad habit of not locking the door from two semesters of working in there and today it would work in his favor.  
  
He darted back and grabbed Ken by the arm and began dragging him toward the empty conference room, "Let's go." He shut the door, locking it, before reconnecting, eagerly, back to Ken.

 

 

Before Ken could even process his boyfriend's suggestion he was pulled into the conference room. At first he'd wanted to protest using this room, feeling that it wasn't really secure enough. What if someone walked in on them? But then Daisuke locked the door, and Ken felt a lot of his tension leave. He was still nervous... but maybe he could get into it. At least he'd be okay with making out in here.  
  
Again, before Ken had really been given a chance to say anything or speak any concerns, Daisuke had his hands on him and their lips had reconnected. It was much more heated this time though.  
  
Ken moaned softly against his lover's mouth and wrapped his arms around his neck. His heart raced in his chest and adrenalin filled his body. He was still nervous about doing something like this in his school, but he was also a bit excited.  
  
Even so though he felt the nervousness starting to overtake the excitement. He didn't pull back, and he let his tongue slide into his boyfriend's mouth, but he couldn't find the courage to initiate anything.  
  
What if someone had a key? Or... or what if they...  
  
Ken tried to get into it more and just shut his brain up, and let his fingers trail under Daisuke's shirt and along his tan skin.

 

Daisuke shivered at Ken's fingers gliding across his skin. He so badly wanted him. Though his mind was clouded with lust he could still feel Ken's reluctance. He didn't want him to do anything he didn't want to or have to be pressured into doing. As much as he wanted to just throw his friend over the table and plow him, the cinnamon haired teen broke their kiss and grabbed Ken's arms, pulling them away.  
  
"You know," he sighed, not believing his was saying this, "we don't have to do this."  
  
He knew that they probably wouldn't have another chance for a while to mess around, since they were never home alone, but he figured that was just something he'd have to get over. He, also, didn't want to start pressuring Ken into having sex, or messing around, they were just starting out their relationship and it wasn't a good foundation to build from.

 

 

Ken stopped and looked at Daisuke for a moment. He could see the desire in his boyfriend's eyes, but at the same time he could see some patience and restraint. Daisuke was willing to wait and make sure that Ken actually was interested too, and that made him feel a lot more comfortable.  
  
Somehow, just hearing the other boy say that made him more willing. He glanced over at the doorknob and saw that it was locked securely, and he listened carefully and heard that no one was out in the library... they were alone, and no one would be able to walk in on them...  
  
"It's okay." Ken leaned forward and kissed Daisuke passionately, wanting to make it clear that he did in fact want to do this with him. "Just..." He pulled away for a moment to say one last thing. "Don't get too loud, okay?"  
  
He let his arms wrap around the redhead's neck and tug him firmly back into a kiss. He tugged at the tanned boy's shirt and began to undo the buttons on it, opening it up to reveal Daisuke's chest. Then he let his hands slip in and around the boy's back. His boyfriend's body was warm and inviting, and he found himself wanting more. Just so long as he didn't moan really loudly and get awkward, anyway...

 

 

Not be too loud? Well, he would give it his best shot, but as far as he could tell, he was pretty vocal during sex. He made a mental note to try and keep it down before diving back into a passionate kiss with Ken. He could feel his body becoming more anxious as Ken began to undress him.  
  
Daisuke's fingers tangled in his boyfriend's indigo hair and his tongue explored his hot mouth. Oh god how he had been wanting this! He knew that Ken was nervous about doing this in public, but as far as Daisuke was concerned was that as long it wasn't his parents who caught them, he didn't care.  
  
Daisuke dipped his head lower and began planting kisses and nipping at Ken's neck as his fingers left Ken's hair and started removing the bothersome clothing. He shifted Ken's uniform shirt off his shoulders before locking lips with him again and his hand began massaging the front of his pants again, making him aware of Ken being pretty much in the same state as him now.

 

 

Ken was finding it difficult to not be a huge hypocrite here. He wanted to moan, pant, call out Daisuke's name and just make noise in general, but he couldn't. What if someone came into the library while they were doing all of this? They probably wouldn't realize that he and Daisuke were in there or what they were doing if they were quiet enough, but if they started getting loud...

 

He grabbed Daisuke's head as the boy touched his pants, and pulled their lips together in an even tighter kiss than before to help him keep his voice down. Both of their shirts were off already, so Ken reached forward and without breaking their kiss, began unbuttoning the redhead's belt. Soon enough it and his pants were on the floor.

 

Ken let their hips grind together, and then after also sending the other boy's boxers to the floor, once again pressed their bodies against each other. A soft sigh made its way out of his mouth, but once he'd brought their lips back together he was quiet again.

 

 

It took all Daisuke had to not be loud. He knew this would be difficult, and so far he thought he was doing fairly well at keeping his voice down. However, when Ken began grinding their naked hips together, the smallest of a moan escaped in his now erratic breathing. His erection was now throbbing for attention.  
  
The redhead reached down between them and firmly grasped both of their members with one hand and began massaging them together, using their precum as lubricant, as he pressed their lips harder together, trying to muffle any noises trying to escape. God, how he just wanted to throw Ken over the table and ravage him!  
  
He broke away from the their kiss momentarily to coat his fingers in his own saliva before making his way to Ken's neck. He ran his tongue around his collarbones. His free hand made its way around the teen's slender hips. Ken shifted allowing him better access to his entrance before pressing two fingers in, earning a deep inhale from the other, obviously trying to remain quiet.  
  
Daisuke slowly began moving his fingers in and out as well as his opposite hand to resume massaging the both of them, forming a rhythm. He knew he had to be doing something right from Ken's sharp inhales and whimpers. This was indeed encouraging for him. He knew they had to be quiet, but he wanted to hear his lover screaming.  
  
Daisuke scissored his fingers, pressing in harder on that spot that made the indigo haired boy's knees go weak. Ken's mouth hung open, his eyes half lidded was good enough motivation for him to move faster, in and out of him.

 

 

When the fingers entered him and the hand was back on their members, stroking in that same rhythm as before, Ken could hardly control himself. He gripped Daisuke's back with his hands and moved his hips along with the motion. The hand on him was gripping down hard, sending waves of pleasure throughout his body. The hand that was in him was now opening up wider to stretch him, and every once in a while one of his fingers hit that spot that made his knees buckle.  
  
He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders and began kissing the other boy's neck, hoping that doing something with his mouth would prevent him from moaning loud enough for everyone in the building still to hear. Soon enough the kissing became sucking, and he used his teeth a bit in an effort to mark the other boy's body.  
  
Well, he probably shouldn't give him a hickey like this, but it was just too fun not to.  
  
"D-Daisuke..." Ken whispered as quietly as he could without being unheard by the other. "I want you..."  
  
Ken moved his lips onto Daisuke's and threw his tongue into the boy's mouth, his hands now in the redhead's hair.

 

Though Daisuke was enjoying Ken's reactions, he was beginning to find it difficult to remain concentrated. Maybe it was the fact that Ken wasn't really making any noise. Maybe that was Daisuke's muse was the rhythmic noises and moans his lover made that made Daisuke yearn to make it happen more. He knew Ken was obviously enjoying what he was doing by his facial expressions, but it still felt as if something was missing and he was starting to think that _that_ was it.  
  
Daisuke knew that there wasn't anybody around. By this time the main office was closed, the majority of the teachers were gone, and the only ones probably still there was the band and they were loud as hell. He so badly wanted to hear Ken moaning and crying out his name and by the looks of him, he only had a limited amount of time before one of them would lose it.  
  
So, the redhead released their members and knelt down in front of him. Daisuke took Ken's throbbing length into his mouth and began sucking the tip earning a whimper from the indigo haired teen. He thrust his fingers deep within him, striking the sensitive spot within him almost causing his knees to buckle but caught him by the hips before he could do so. Ken's whimpers and harsh breath was good enough for him.

 

 

Ken leaned against the wall and put his hands in the other boy's hair, gripping down on the strands. He moved Daisuke's head up and down along himself, and was unable to keep his harsh breathing as quiet as he wanted it to be. He gasped and hissed, moaning lightly.  
  
"D-Dai...!" He bit his bottom lip to try and silence himself again. Damn, he really was a moaner, wasn't he? This was a lot more difficult than he thought it would be.  
  
When his boyfriend sped up his pace and continued his fingering motions, Ken felt himself getting closer. So he pushed Daisuke away and down to the floor, leaning down to place his own mouth over the redhead's member.  
  
Ken moved his lips down the length and sucked hard, but not enough to make his mouth sore right off the bat. His hands moved up his lover's chest and back down. He loved the feel of his warm skin, and the way that Daisuke moved his hips upward to push himself deeper into his mouth. It drove Ken crazy and encouraged him to move his mouth faster.

 

 

"Nng! Oh god!" He called softly under his breath. Daisuke's fingers gripped at the floor as Ken sucked harder on his length. He couldn't help but move his hips to increase his pleasure. He was still amazed with as little practice his boyfriend had, how good he had become!  
  
At this point Daisuke felt himself getting closer by the minute. He sat up on his elbows and his head hung back, rolling on his shoulders. One of the redhead's hands found its way into his lover's hair, quickly making it into a tangled mess. As Ken pressed Daisuke into his throat, he almost lost it. Moans, quiet and some louder than they may have wanted, became flowing out with each erratic breath. He knew he wasn't going to last much longer.  
  
"Don't stop p-please," he moaned, "but turn the other way."

 

 

Ken was lightheaded when he turned about and laid down on his side, his lower body now by Daisuke's head. He hadn't really thought about exactly what they were going to do when he'd followed his boyfriend's orders, he'd just kind of moved. Not that he was upset when he felt Daisuke's mouth back down over his member.  
  
Ken grabbed his lover's length and moved his lips up and down along the firm skin. He moaned loudly through it, all of his previous considerations of noise now gone from his mind.  
  
His right hand gripped the base of the boy's shaft while his left hand gripped hard on his hip, pulling him deeper into his mouth. He pulled his head away for a second, taking a few deep breaths, and then dove back onto it.  
  
"Mmm..." he let his tongue twist circles around the tip, and then sucked hard all the way down to the base of his shaft.

 

 

"Mm.. ah...!" he moaned, pulling away from Ken for a moment, almost losing himself, but was able to hold back. He wasn't ready yet. His whole body felt as if it was on fire at this point, his mind cloudy and he wasn't able to think at this point. His moans, though muffled by Ken's length, still carried some volume. Daisuke pressed himself down as far as he could go, pushing Ken down into this throat, but had to back away quickly from where he began to gag. This didn't stop him for long, he tried it a few more times before pulling away again.  
  
Daisuke laid on his back and pulled Ken over him, with one knee on both sides on his head and took him into his mouth again. At this point his mouth was beginning to get pretty sore, but he was able to ignore it.  
  
He grasped onto Ken's ivory hips with one hand as he slowly slipped his fingers back inside him with the other, pressing at his sensitive spot again. He could feel Ken's body tensing up. Daisuke moaned loudly against him again, as he felt Ken pull him deeper into his mouth. He knew he wasn't going to last must longer.

 

 

Ken couldn't help thrusting himself down into Daisuke's mouth once he had been rolled over top of him. He tried not to get too enthusiastic with it so that his boyfriend wouldn't choke, but the effort to hold back was proving quite difficult.  
  
His right hand rested along the bottom of the other boy's shaft while his right hand gripped hard on his ass. He quickened the pace with his mouth, but his eyes began to clench shut as he got closer and closer.  
  
Quickly he pulled his mouth away from Daisuke's member as he climaxed, gripping down on his hips harder than he meant to. He moaned into Daisuke's thigh and slowly moved his length in and out of the other's mouth. Once he was completely spent, he quickly re-positioned himself so that his body was nestled between Daisuke's legs.  
  
Sitting on his knees, he leaned down and threw his mouth back over Daisuke's. He put all of his effort and energy into it, and very quickly, his mouth filled with a warm liquid. He managed to swallow it, wanting to give his boyfriend the same that he'd been given.

 

 

After having his release, Daisuke sat up, trying to catch his breath. His mind was still floating. He smiled and looked over at Ken, "God, I love you so fucking much," he said with a chuckle. He leaned over and pressed a quick kiss on Ken lips before standing up on wobbly legs. He had to admit, his boyfriend knew how to make his knees weak. He helped the other up and began dressing. He didn't know how long they had been in there, but he knew that they had better be heading out.  
  
Once they were dressed, Daisuke peaked out of the door, just to make sure there weren’t any teachers or staff around before giving the all clear and walking out.

 

 

Once Ken was dressed as well he walked back into the library after his boyfriend, closing the door to the small office they'd just been in behind him. There was a bit of an awkward silence that settled between him and Daisuke after that. He felt a bit nervous to be honest. The feeling didn't last long though, and he never got the chance to confront the other boy about it, because someone walked through the library doors.  
  
As Taichi walked in Ken froze, feeling a wave of dread wash over him. Had Taichi... heard anything?  
  
"Oh, hey guys!" Taichi said cheerily. "I see you're all done now." A wide, evil smirk plastered across his lips after that.  
  
"I-I... we..." Ken stammered and looked down at the floor in humiliation. "How did... you know...?"  
  
"Well I came in here earlier and I heard you." Taichi's smirk had yet to falter even slightly. "So I left and figured I'd try again later. Took you guys long enough!"  
  
Ken really wished he could evaporate and float away...

 

 

Daisuke didn't even have a chance to be happy to see his friend, "Goddamnit! Why is it when we try to mess around someone catches us," He asked with a whine. He wasn't really mad at Taichi, but it seemed like he just couldn't win. This, however, wasn't nearly as embarrassing as having his sister catch them. That was just awful! She still would tease him about being quieter even though they weren't even doing anything. The redhead walked over to the table nearby that they left their stuff at and grabbed them, Ken's as well.  
  
After calming himself some he grounded out, "So Taichi... What gives us the pleasure of having you grace us with your presence?"  
  
He led the way out of the library and down the hall, stopping at his locker and throwing his books in, still holding onto Ken's.

 

 

Taichi chuckled a bit at Daisuke's question. "Well I was just here to get something for Hikari that she left in her locker. She bribed me pretty good, I'll tell you that..."  
  
"What did she do to get you to drive all the way out here?" Ken asked, seizing the opportunity to change the subject the moment he saw it.  
  
"Helping me clean up my place," Taichi sighed. "It's... pretty bad."  
  
Taichi looked between his two friends. Ken sure looked awkward, even with the conversation having steered itself away from their little... incident. He almost couldn't believe they'd had the guts to do something like that, but then he remembered the other half of the pair; Daisuke. He was probably the only one on Earth who could have actually convinced Ken to do that. It was... kind of amazing, actually.  
  
"Anyway Ken, don't be all embarrassed," Taichi decided to step on eggshells again. “I'm uh... bisexual. I've had this huge crush on Yamato for years and stuff, so you don't need to be upset. Not that he likes me back at all... so really you're better off than me. And I mean, at least it was just me who caught you and not someone else. Like Iori! Oh my god... just imagine that."  
  
"No... I don't think I want to..." Ken felt himself blush at the thought alone. Iori... dear lord he would have died on the spot. And so would Iori, most likely...  


 

Daisuke was taken aback, "Bisexual?! Whoa....." he said as a big grin spread across his face. That was the last thing he expected to hear out of him today. He looked over at Ken and could see that his boyfriend wasn't as shocked as he was by hearing this, "Did you know?"

 

Ken glanced over at Daisuke and shrugged his shoulders. He remembers Taichi saying something in the hospital, but with everything happening all around them it slipped his mind. He apparently hasn’t told many people about it. Hikari probably knew though, as she seemed to have some kind of magical powers that told her everything about everyone.

 

He was amazed to find out that it was Yamato who he had liked. The redhead would admit that be was known for being oblivious to... well, a lot of things. In fact, he was the last to know about a lot of things. Things that everyone else seemed to know for quite some time. He has accepted that he wasn't good at picking up signals a lot of the time, but then again there were times he didn't realize he was being super obvious about something and everyone had figured it out, but he still thought it was a big secret. Kinda like how Jun knew that he had a crush on Ken and she wasn't surprised at all when he came out to his family.   
  
Hell, one he didn't realize Takeru was hardcore pissed off at him for like 3 days. He still carried on conversations and goofed off around him, even though the blonde didn't say much back to him. It wasn't until Hikari had said something to him about it three days later that it all made since. And even so, Daisuke thought the reason for him being mad was completely stupid. Apparently when his class was having a pizza party Takeru asked for the napkins from across the table and Daisuke being... Daisuke he threw them to him and smacked him in the face with said napkins and laughed afterwards. This did not go well over with Takeru at all, but it never registered with him that he had embarrassed the blonde and so he didn't bother apologizing.   
  
But this was something that he thought he would, for sure, notice. I mean how did he not figure out that Taichi liked Yamato? His and Yamato's relationship was similar to his and Ken's. Maybe it was because Daisuke had refused to admit he loved Ken for a long time and thought it was just how best friends were supposed to be like with each other.   
  
"I'm sorry that things couldn't work out with you and Yamato," he finally said after a long pause, "Does he know?"  


 

"No he doesn't," Taichi answered Daisuke with a shake of his head. "He's never going to know either." Taichi sighed and crossed his arms. "And before you give me the  _'just tell him, he might like you back, you'll never know till you try, blah blah'_  speech, he loves Sora. Maybe if they break up I'd think about it, but yeah, it's just best if he never knows. He's like... straighter than a ruler."  
  
Taichi laughed at his joke, though it seemed a lot more forced now that the topic was on Yamato and him. Ken could tell that Taichi was still sore over it... but he couldn't blame him. He understood. Before he and Daisuke had gotten together he felt the same way. At least in his case it hadn't ended up as he'd thought, Daisuke  _wasn't_  as straight as a ruler... but he could relate.  


 

Daisuke could see how much it hurt Taichi to watch the guy he liked to be in the arms of a woman... one of his good friends in fact. Daisuke always wondered how Taichi and Sora never ended up together. It almost seemed like they were a great match. They were great friends growing up and by stories he was told about their first adventures in the Digital World.   
  
According to Hikari, Taichi seemed to have a small crush on her. However, it seems that at some point Yamato won Taichi's heart and had quite a hold on it for some time. Well, until Sora and Yamato made it official that they were an item.   
  
"So," he paused, knowing it was really none of his business, but didn't care because he wanted to know, "you didn't like Sora after all? It was Yamato that you liked all this time?"  
  
He knew that it was a sore subject, but since Taichi opened the door, he figured he might as well go in and poke around. He was just thankful that the subject was steered away from what he and Ken had been doing in the conference room.  


 

"Heh..." Taichi chuckled at the question he was just asked. He wasn't angry at Daisuke for it, he'd brought the topic up in the first place after all. "No, it was Sora I first liked, but she was a lot different as a kid than she is now. She used to play soccer with me and would joke around, kind of a tomboy which I liked, stood up for herself but she wasn't pushy about it like Mimi. She was perfect... I'm not really sure when my feelings changed but I know it was soon after I realized that she and I didn't have anything in common anymore. I mean, Sora and I used to hang out like every day! We'd joke around, play soccer, watch movies, play video games... now she's just too girly for any of that. Then I started to like Yamato instead."  
  
Taichi glared down at his feet and crossed his arms. "Stupid, stupid idea."  
  
"I'm sorry Taichi-san..." Ken trailed off, genuinely sad from hearing that story. Taichi had liked both of them it seemed, and now they were together...  
  
"Eh," Taichi smiled, and it seemed genuine enough. "It sucks but I'm mostly over it. I can hang out with either of them now and it's fine. The only time it's a problem is when they're together being all... romantic. Then I just want to puke. And maybe punch someone." Taichi smirked a bit. "Like Yamato."

 

 

Daisuke chuckled wryly, "I must say, you are taking this better than I would have." He looked over at Ken with a softened expression, "I don't know what I would have done if that happened between me and Ken. Even though we haven't been together for very long, I think it would have destroyed me if he ended up with someone else. I mean even if he stayed single and had no romantic feelings for me at all, I could have handled that better than him being with another person. I suppose," he fell silent for a moment trying to find the right way to say what he meant and not sound like a crazy stalker, "at least that way I could always feel like I had a ray of hope, even in the smallest bit."  
  
He looked over at Taichi as he leaned back against the lockers, "I don't think it's stupid that you liked Yamato. I mean, Yamato is a good looking guy. But have you tried turning your attention to anyone else? I know there has to be someone on campus that catches your fancy," he said, wagging his eyebrows.  


 

Ken smiled at Daisuke after hearing his heartfelt words.  
  
"Eh..." Taichi thought about Daisuke's question for a moment. "Nah, there really hasn't been anyone yet. I mean sure there are hot guys and girls here and there, but so far they've all turned out pretty annoying once you start talking to them... I've mostly been hanging out with Koushiro. That guy... if I didn't make him, he'd never leave his room. I swear he's like, sexually attracted to that fucking computer."  
  
Taichi laughed and shook his head, a smile spreading across his face thinking of his ridiculous friend.  


 

The sudden image of Koushiro making out fiercely with his laptop popped into Daisuke head, sending him into a laughing frenzy. It was so true! Never in the years he had known the redhead did Daisuke ever notice any type of interest toward... anyone. He figured that Koushiro HAD to be asexual.   
  
After his calmed down from laughing, he figured he's ask, "Is Koushiro asexual? Like, has he ever even kissed anyone? I figured you would know more than anyone since you're closer to him than any of us."  
  
He felt bad for Koushiro. The poor guy probably wouldn't ever know how to talk to a girl, "I mean, I know it's not really any of my business, but I don't give a shit, I'm nosy," he chuckled.

 

 

Taichi froze and stared at Daisuke, trying to get his mind to work. Memories of his hands on Koushiro, who was quite audibly moaning into his mouth, flashed quickly through his mind. He opened his mouth to reply with an easy 'I don't know' and a shrug of his shoulders, but the lie didn't come out as he'd planned. In fact, nothing came out. What should he even say? That he and Koushiro had made out fiercely and gotten quite physical in the process? Or should he just make up something?  
  
"A-Ah..." Taichi finally said, realizing that he'd failed to reply for quite a while now. "You'll have to ask Koushiro that question." Yeah... that wasn't the best cover up, but it would have to do. It wasn't a lie or the full truth and that was probably as good as it was going to get.  
  
"A-Anyway!" Taichi shook his head and gave his friends a grin, hoping to change the subject before he said too much. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about you guys. Unless you don't care, then I'll probably tell everyone I know."  


 

Daisuke cocked an eyebrow and glanced over at Ken, who seemed to have a similar reaction to Taichi's sudden stammering followed by silence. He was soon disappointed with the answer he got, but brushed it off. Maybe Taichi didn't know any more than they did after all.  
  
However, he felt his heart stop when Taichi spoke of mentioning what he had heard in the library, "Man, Taichi..." his face flushing a bit, "No one knows, but you and Koushiro... and maybe Hikari since she probably knows everything. We haven't told any of the other we're together. Let alone fucking in the library."  
  
He was quiet for a moment and looked over at Ken and smiled, "Besides, you wouldn't even tell us who Koushiro's been making out with." Daisuke's obliviousness was absolutely astounding at times. Seriously, if he were any denser he would probably sink.  
  


Taichi had been about to say something in reply to what Daisuke and Ken had done, when Daisuke brought up Koushiro again. Koushiro  _making out_ , in fact.  
  
"W-What...?" Taichi stammered again. "I didn't say he made out with anyone!" Well... there went his 'not entirely a lie' angle. "I-I mean... he totally did!" Taichi smacked his face into the palm of his hand at his clear implication. "No, I mean... he... we didn't... I give up." Taichi quickly turned and walked away before he said anything else, waving behind him at his friends who probably thought he was a retard by this point.  
  
Ken watched after him, quite suspicious of Taichi's strange behavior and with new ideas on Koushiro and Taichi's friendship in his mind. Oh, Daisuke... he just really didn't get it, did he? Oh well, that was alright. His obliviousness was kinda cute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments are not required but always appreciated. If you have any questions feel free to ask!


	13. Everything's About to Change (optional)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Koushiro goes to Taichi's to try and gets some answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a naughty scene! You can skip that part of it if you want. But there are some important plot points in here.

_**If you skipped the last chapter here is what you missed:** _

_**\- Daisuke and Ken get freaky in the school's library. Daisuke sort of coaxes Ken into it.** _  
_**-When they come out they run into Taichi who is there picking up something for his sister. They learn that he heard them. (they just can't stop getting caught lol)** _  
_**-Taichi teases them and admits to Daisuke that he is bisexual and was in love with both Sora and Yamato.** _  
_**\- Taichi almost lets it slip he made out with Koushiro, Ken becomes suspicious  
  
  
** _

It had been a quite a busy week for Koushiro. He had his midterms to worry about, running back and forth to his parents place for one thing or another, write another report (this one, thankfully not as long as the last one), and help Iori reformat his computer because his mother somehow got a horrible virus on it. And to make matters worse he couldn't get Taichi out of his head. The brunet seemed to cloud his mind anytime there was a free moment. His concentration was shot. Koushiro found himself thinking about how far they went and if it wasn't for Hikari pounding on the door... how far it _could_ have gone.  
  
He came home after taking his last midterm, threw everything on the chair and plopped down on the couch, grateful all of that was over. His mind was still reeling over everything. He couldn't concentrate on his test all that well and feared that he may not have done as well as he had hoped, "Ugh...." he groaned, closing his eyes and slumping down into the cushions, "damn Taichi."   
  
What was he going to do about this? Koushiro had tried thinking about where he would go from here, but he found himself at a crossroads and it seemed either path left either one of them unhappy or both of them unhappy, simply because he never saw them being any more than they already were. He also didn't want to destroy their friendship by trying to push the subject, but he also couldn't help the enormous elephant in the room. Did they have to talk about this or act like it never happened? Did Taichi even like him like that or was it just a thing that happened? Is all of this happening because of Yamato and Sora? This was making his head hurt. He had so many questions to ask, but was afraid of the answers. He hadn't really spoken to the brunet since that night.   
  
Koushiro grabbed the remote and turned the tv on. He was overthinking this and needed a distraction. He flipped vigorously through the channels, trying to find something to watch, but it seemed like nothing was about to catch his eye.   
  
"Man, why are there so many channels and they can never put anything remotely interesting on," he asked rhetorically to no one.   
  
For a moment he thought about getting on his computer, but for the first time, in a long time, he didn't even want to bother with it. He finally settled on some documentary about cryptozoology, but even than he was half-ass watching.   
  
His mind, again, wondered back to Taichi. Koushiro felt his cheeks heat up as his thought about their fierce make-out session. It seemed like the only way to get this out of his head is if he spoke to the brunet.

 

 

            Taichi was frustrated.  
  
Computers had never been a passion of his to say the least, though there were times in life where he was forced to use them anyway. Those times resulted in a lot of confusion and irritation, but this time was particularly aggravating. For the life of him he could not get the stupid internet to connect to the wireless. His ethernet cord was broken at the clip and would pull out of the back of his computer all the time because of it. Constant disconnection from the internet did not make his computer challenge any easier. Using the wireless instead would have been a great solution, except that it apparently was an  _asshole_  and just wasn't going to work.  
  
Taichi groaned. He needed to write his report for school today so he couldn't just give up on it! Alright... he'd just have to use the stupid broken cord after all. So he stood up, grabbed the wretched thing and plugged it into his computer. Then he plugged the other end into the router and sat down at his desk. No internet.  
  
Taichi glared angrily down at the cord. What the hell, was it broken too?! He pulled it out of the back of his computer and plugged it back in, but still the internet did not connect.  
  
"AGH!" Taichi threw the cord away from him and against the wall. Then he pulled out his cell phone and dialed his best friend's phone number. He waited for the rings to stop and the sound of someone answering his call. Before the person on the other end even had the chance to speak, Taichi whined, "KOUSHIRO! HELP ME!"  


 

            Koushiro couldn't help stare blankly at his phone after his friend nearly blew his eardrum out. Well, he wanted to find a reason to speak to Taichi about this. He figured this must have been the Universe's answer to his prayer. Now all he had to do was figure out how not to be awkward about it.   
  
"Ok, Taichi-san," he sighed coming to his feet, "but don't expect me to start coming over at every beck and call."  
  
After he hung up, he slipped his shoes on and grabbed his car keys. Taichi wasn't that far and he needed to talk to him anyways... at least that's what he kept telling himself. It had nothing to do with the fact that he just wanted to be around him in general. As he drove, Koushiro practiced ways of bringing the subject up, but they all sounded rehearsed. "Hey Taichi-san! I wanted to talk to you about the other day. Y'know... that day we... kissed? Argh!" his head fell back against the head rest. That was terrible. "Taichi-san, you remember that day I stuck my tongue.... _NO_!! That day we made out, um, rather fiercely? Why bring the day up? He should know exactly what you're talking about."  
  
This ride wasn't long enough. Maybe if he had more time to practice he'd feel better, but as he looked up at the exit sign he could see that he had less than a few miles to go. Koushiro felt his heart pounding from nervousness and he knew that he needed to calm down because there was no way Taichi wouldn't pick this up. He wasn't, well, Daisuke.  
  
After arriving and spending about five minutes going over, what he thought was a decent way to start the topic, he climbed out of the car and made his way up to the brunet's apartment and knocked.  


 

           "Hey Koushiro!" Taichi smiled as he opened the door, having been waiting in the living room since he'd hung up the phone. He didn't have much else to do while he waited, but more than that he was super excited to see his friend and didn't really want to do anything else. It had been a while since they'd last hung out, much longer than should be allowed, and he could use some socialization.  
  
Well, not so much socialization as Koushiro-time.  
  
"Ack, it's been too long!" Taichi quickly yanked his friend into a tight hug. It was short, and while Taichi found himself wanting to drag it out more, he was also in desperate need of help with his belligerent computer. So he pulled back and looked at his friend, who seemed... strange. He couldn't really place the look on Koushiro's face.  
  
"Uh... you okay?" Taichi asked, tilting his head to the side.  


 

            Koushiro felt nervousness in his chest as Taichi opened the door. Before he could say anything the brunet pulled him into a quick hug where he managed to get one soft and awkward pat on his back before Taichi backed away. Man, he was nervous and this must have shown.  
  
"Uh, heh, y-yeah. I've just had a lot on my mind this week," he replied. Without dwelling on this or giving Taichi an opportunity to ask a follow- up question, he entered the apartment.   
  
He made his way over to the computer and sat down, "So," he tried acting normal as possible, "what exactly is it doing?"  
  
When Taichi explained the situation with his internet, Koushiro began trying to figure it out the problem. He had the internet company send a refresh signal and finally got the router working.  
  
The whole time he worked on Taichi's computer he could hear the brunet talking, about what he wasn't really sure since his mind was elsewhere.   
  
"Ok I got your router working. But you may need to get a new cord because it seems like there is a bad short in it," he said turning from the computer and back to his friend.

 

                "Yay!" Taichi cheered and pulled his friend out of the chair and into a rough hug. For a moment he felt some tension between them, but didn't pay much attention to it. He let go and walked over to his computer, locking the screen and shutting off the monitor. Then he stood up tall and stretched his arms above his head.  
  
Hmm... now that his computer was fixed, what did he want to do?  
  
Taichi turned to ask Koushiro if he had any ideas on something fun they could do together, when he noticed the look on his best friend's face. "Uh... you alright, Koushiro?"

 

 

                Taking a seat on the bed, Koushiro could feel the fear that had bored its way back into him. His eyes stared blankly at his friend as he tried to search for the courage and bring himself to just say what exactly was on his mind. He couldn't figure out why be had suddenly become so nervous and afraid. It's not like Taichi would throw him out of his apartment just for mentioning something that they both had to do with. Maybe it was more of that little voice niggling in the back of his mind that Taichi would brush it off and laugh and pretty much say something along the lines of _'Yeah, I don't know what came over me... ha ha.._ definitely _won't let THAT mistake happen again.._ '  
  
After deliberating with his thoughts for that seemed like hours, Koushiro allowed his shoulders, that apparently had become very tense, to finally relax and allow himself to try and answer Taichi's question.  
  
He chewed at the inside of his cheek and hummed in thought before coming to his feet. There was so sense in lying and saying nothing was wrong, because even though Taichi wasn't the most perceptive, it was incredibly obvious to the other that something was eating at him.  
  
Koushiro sighed, "I would be lying if I said nothing was bothering me, but I..." he paused, trying to find his words, "I am not sure, even if I wanted, I'm not sure I'm ready to face it yet... as cowardly as it may sound."  
  
He tapped his finger on his philtrum in thought before opening his mouth to say something else, but decided against it and shook his head. He could see a hint of confusion on Taichi's face and only dreaded what was going through the brunet's mind. He mentally slapped himself and immediately wanted to recant what he said. He hated speaking without really thinking it through. Letting out another sigh, he started to walk to the door, "Well, anyways, you need to start working on your paper... so... yeah... I'll leave you be..." he trailed off, fumbling with the knob.  
  
He opened the door and started walking out, but in within an instant, something in him snapped. Koushiro wasn't sure what it was or where it came from, but he turned on his heels and marched straight up to Taichi and without thinking grabbed the brunet's head, stood on the tip of his toes to match his height, and crashed his lips onto the older Chosen Child's in a harsh, sloppy kiss.  


 

There were many emotions that had run through Taichi's mind over the course of about thirty seconds. At first he'd been confused, his friend's words lacking details or sense. Then he'd felt nervous, feeling that perhaps he'd upset Koushiro somehow. After that came fear when his best friend left the room for no apparent reason, because they both knew damn well that this had nothing to do with reports or school. But all of those emotions paled in comparison to the shock that followed, when Koushiro grabbed his face and kissed him.  
  
Taichi was stunned, completely and utterly stunned. He tensed up at first and his mind reeled. Was... this happening? Had Koushiro just...? It wasn't even the fact that he was being kissed by Koushiro that was so overwhelming for him - though that certainly was part of it - but more, it was the way he was kissing him. While it was sloppy and rough, Taichi could also feel the desperation in it.  
  
His hands were immediately on Koushiro's hips, finger tips digging into fabric as he yanked the boy toward him. Koushiro was up against him now, and Taichi's mind shifted. Competition and lust overwhelmed him and he no longer cared whether or not any of this situation made sense. Considerations about this being Koushiro he was kissing and touching, or of what this meant, or where it would lead them, or what Koushiro was thinking... Taichi didn't care.  
  
Taichi moaned against Koushiro's lips as he slid his tongue into his mouth.

 

 

For the seconds that followed his rash and unexpected decision to suddenly kiss his friend, Koushiro felt a lovely fear and anxious cocktail swell in his chest as Taichi remained motionless and didn't try speaking, he just stood there. Koushiro felt his face heat up from embarrassment. He was about to pull away when the brunette finally moved and pulled him, by his hips, flush against the heat of his body. What had happened was actually the total opposite of what he had expected. Maybe not a full blown shove to the ground, but maybe a polite decline. However, that wasn't the case; Taichi was kissing him back and actually deepening it at that.  
  
Koushiro felt his heart pounding against the walls of his body when he felt his friend's tongue slipping into his mouth which he reciprocated graciously. He found himself exploring as much of Taichi's mouth as he could, their tongues casually running over one another. A few low moans escaping from his throat as the brunet hungrily devoured his mouth.   
  
The intoxicating noises that come from the brunet began to cloud over his thoughts with yearning and lust. At this point, his fear had subsided and he felt himself becoming more daring. His hands fell from Taichi's face and his fingers lightly traced his features, the curves of his neck to his strong shoulders to his chest where he pressed his palms flat on his pectorals. He could feel Taichi's shaky breaths against his hands as he slowly pressed him causing the other to move backwards. Koushiro was becoming more riled up as their mouths fought for dominance.  
  
It was obvious at this point that he was becoming quite aroused. He pressed forward until Taichi's legs met the edge of the bed and caused him to fall back slightly, sitting down, parting them for just a moment, before immediately reconnecting into another passionate kiss. Koushiro could hear the bed creaking under his weight as he crawled into the brunet's lap, placing one knee on either side of him.   
  
His hands found their way into Taichi's messy hair, tangling into the brown locks.

 

 

Taichi's head was swimming, and if he were to be entirely honest with himself, he had no idea what was going on. First he'd been hanging out with Koushiro like normal, and now his normally shy friend was straddling his lap on a bed. Their tongues and hands roamed, and Taichi was only getting dizzier with lust and adrenalin.  
  
Feeling the bed creak below him and Koushiro's hands in his hair only made his mind cloud over even more. He wanted to throw Koushiro on his back, pin him down and have his way with him... Yet somehow, Koushiro's strange dominance in the situation was more intriguing. How far would Koushiro take this? Somehow, Taichi was finding it fun to let the other lead.  
  
Taichi decided to provoke his friend further. He adjusted himself so that his back was against the wall and Koushiro was sitting directly over his lap. He grabbed a fistful of Koushiro's hair with his left hand, kissing his lips desperately, while he gripped his ass with his right hand. He didn't try to hide the physical condition he was in. In fact, he did quite the opposite of that by pulling down on Koushiro even more so that they rubbed against each other.

 

 

The breath that was being expelled at the moment became caught in his throat as Taichi pressed his body down and rubbed their sensitive nether regions and the firm kneading of his ass, only allowing a small whimper to escape. He bit slightly on the brunet's lower lip before pulling away. Koushiro felt his body heat up more when he saw the mischievous smile spread across Taichi's features. How did he stay so calm? Koushiro was a nervous wreck, though he tried to hide it the best that he could.   
  
The redhead couldn't allow his friend to win him over. He wanted to show him that he could make him melt the same way Taichi had done to him before. Even with him being the one on top it still felt like Taichi was the one in control. He connected their mouths once more, immediately slipping his tongue back into his friend's mouth, but quickly pulled away.  
  
Koushiro ran his hands along Taichi's built chest before he leaned down to run his tongue along the protruding muscles of his neck. It was encouraging to hear the soft moans that he earned while doing this that he kissed along his clavicle. He felt his hips move on their own, mostly from the much wanted attention he yearned for, and rolled them over Taichi's, grinding into him, expelling a soft groan of his own.   
  
He really wanted this. He really wanted his friend and he wasn't going to let it slip away from him like the last time. Again he rolled his hips into his friend's it was intoxicating the way he could make Taichi make noises like that along with the shocks of pleasure on his own side of it as well.   
  
He found himself leaving small marks along the brunet's collarbone and the side on his neck. He pulled away from the area and returned to place a passionate kiss on his lips as he continued to roll his hips into the crotch under him.   
  
It felt so good and he wanted more. He broke the kiss once more and leaned back to where he was able to remove his shirt and Taichi's as well before returning.  


 

Now shirtless, Taichi ran his hands up Koushiro's thin chest and felt shivers run down his spine from doing so. Touching his best friend like this... there was something dirty about it, and that just made it all the more exciting for him. Koushiro was so reserved and shy, and seeing him come out of his shell and straddle him made Taichi want to just... just... take him. But he didn't want to push the boy off of his lap either. It was just way too much fun like this.  
  
Taichi locked their lips again and ran his thumbs under the hem of Koushiro's pants. He tugged, and the clothing was easily removed. He tossed it somewhere, wherever it ended up. He frankly didn't care. Then he used his thumbs again to pull down the other's boxers, though he didn't remove them entirely.  
  
His right hand wrapped around the other's member and began to pump, but not too hard or fast though. Drawing it was far more fun, after all. His left hand once again tightened itself around the other's ass. He leaned up and locked their lips together, his mind fogging over once again.  
  
He could feel his hand getting slick with precum almost immediately, indicating just how turned on his friend had become, which caused a growl to escape Taichi's throat. He wanted more... this wasn't enough, and he already knew it.  
  
"Kou... shiro..." Taichi panted between kisses and bit down on his friend's lip. In the back of his mind he hoped he hadn't hurt him, but at the same time he kind of didn't care. "Want... you..."  


 

This was all so new to him. Koushiro's head was swimming. He wasn't exactly sure how to digest all of the emotions and actions of the situation at hand. For years the subject of sex didn't really interest him. Of course he did what any teenage boy would do and explored his body and watched porn. However, despite the handful of times he did actually masturbate, it paled in comparison to this, which was far more intense than anything he had ever done to himself.  
  
Before he knew it Taichi had relieved him of his pants and his aching erection had been sprung free from its confines. Taichi's hot hand was slowly, but firmly stroking him and it was becoming unbearable. He grabbed Taichi's hand and pulled it away from him, "Mmm...no," he half moaned half mumbled against the brunet's mouth, swatting the brunet's hand away because he knew that if he kept it up much longer then he was going to lose it.  
  
Koushiro climbed off to the side a little and helped his friend remove his pants, throwing them off to the side before returning to his original spot in Taichi's lap. He captured his lips once more in a sloppy open mouth kiss, this time feeling a bit more confident as his hands moved all over Taichi's sun kissed skin. He eventually made his way to his obvious arousal that he had practically been sitting on and slipped his hand under the elastic band of his boxers, earning a deep groan from him as he moved his hand up the weeping shaft.  
  
He pulled away from his kiss and watched as he carefully pumped the cock in his hand, watching the shiny head poking out as the foreskin retracted and ran his thumb over the slit. He sat with his mouth gaping like a fish, not believing he was actually touching him like this. He continued to marvel at his friend's quite impressive length with girth to match, feeling a bit of shame if his was being compared. Nonetheless, he pushed those thoughts aside and proceeded to pleasure his Taichi. He glanced up to see him biting his bottom lip which soon slacked and beautiful melodious noises rang in his ear.  
  
At this point Koushiro had been only guessing as to what he had to do and touched his friend as he would have wanted to be touched, but at the moment all he wanted more than anything was to have the brunet inside of him. He let go of Taichi's member and lifted off his lap enough to slip his boxers off of one leg and returned to his spot.  
  
He pressed their lips together again as he raised himself over Taichi and soon trying to guide him in only to be greeted with a sharp pain, "Ahh—!" he hissed halting just as the head was pressed in, "Ooohh.." he groaned, "is…is it supposed to feel like that?" he asked as he pulled him back out, looking up at his friend.

 

 

Taichi was pretty sure Koushiro had just asked him something, but after the way his friend had been touching him, he wasn't sure he'd quite understood it. The way Koushiro had moved his hand and fingers along his length had been intoxicating. It was too hard to think right now. Questions... just too many questions. However, the pained expression on Koushiro's face was what snapped Taichi back to reality a little bit. No matter how much his brain just wanted to shut off and never think again, it was easily sobered up at the idea of hurting his friend. Right, that question... He'd asked him about... oh.  
  
"N-No..." Taichi panted and reached over toward his bedside table where his lotion was, knowing vaguely what to do. He'd seen porn, he'd heard things, read stories... He was pretty sure that Koushiro just needed to be worked up still, stretched out. Or... Or something... It was just so hard to think. He'd tried with all his might to hold onto his composure and dominance, but somehow Koushiro seemed to have taken it all away the moment he'd touched him. Taichi knew he had a lot of pride, he didn't deny it. His ego was bigger than most and he always wanted to be the one leading, taking charge. It was strange to be feeling someone else take him over like this, but he didn't want it to stop. In a way, he loved how foreign it felt.  
  
As delicately as he could, Taichi rubbed the cold lotion onto his fingers and slipped his index into his friend's entrance. He moved very slowly, not wanting to cause any pain if he could avoid it. He'd never done this before and was only going off the basic knowledge that he had, so he prayed that he wasn't about to mess this all up. Then he used his free hand to pull his member back toward his stomach, grasped both his and Koushiro's lengths in his hand, and rubbed them together.  
  
The hazy fog in his mind was back, and his ability to think receded back into the depths. He felt their members touching, both throbbing against his hand as he moved it up and down. He didn't want Koushiro to get turned off while he worked on getting him ready, so he kept his grip firm and tight. Or at least, that's what he hoped he was supposed to do... Pain was probably not the most attractive thing, and the last thing Taichi wanted was to kill the mood.  
  
His lips were on the other boy's neck, biting and sucking down hard to leave a mark. He panted between licks and kisses, his heart racing in his chest and his skin starting to shine a bit with sweat. Once he didn't feel as much resistance against his finger, he slid another one in, and another, hoping that he wasn't going too fast.

 

 

The feeling of Taichi fingering him was not painful as he thought it was going to be. True, it was an odd feeling, but at the moment it felt foreign. He should have figured that being stretched so much so quickly would hurt, but in his cloud of lust he stopped paying attention to reason. His mind soon clouded back over as his friend began rubbing their lengths together. Koushiro knew that from an outside observer, it was obvious the two were ill practiced and were guessing what they were doing, but overall he wasn't complaining. Despite a few awkward moments they seemed to be doing alright.  
  
The way Taichi kissed him and touched him was starting to drive him mad. He hadn't realized that another finger was added and were now moving in a scissoring motion. There was a slightly dull pain seeing as the brunet wasn't moving his fingers as wide as he could at the moment. However, when he did eventually do so, he found way of distracting the red head from the dull pain.   
  
Koushiro began letting out a string of soft moans. He pulled himself as close as he could get to the brunet without interrupting what he was doing and without losing his balance, but it was when he moved that Taichi struck something that send a wave of pleasure through his body and caused him to cry out louder than before, which was already pretty loud.   
  
He could see a look concern on Taichi's face when he came to a halt. Koushiro smiled slightly, "Please...," he panted, "Taichi-san... Please do that again..."  


 

At first Taichi wasn't sure what he'd done to cause so much pleasure in the other. He supposed he'd pushed his fingers in deeper than before, and he'd touched something... Then it dawned on him what it was, and a mischievous grin crossed his lips. So that's where it was, huh... Good to know.  
  
Taichi had three fingers in now, spreading out to stretch his friend further. He let his longest, middle finger hit that spot again and enjoyed the hiss of pleasure that came from his best friend. Then he pulled out and wiped his fingers off on the sheet. He got Koushiro positioned right, spread his legs and pulled him down onto his lap.  
  
The moment his member penetrated the other, he felt a moan escape his throat. He'd tried to hold it back, but his attempts were utterly unsuccessful. This time Koushiro didn't cringe or gasp with pain, and it only excited Taichi more. So he used his arms and push Koushiro upward and then down, and moved his hips along with the motion. He almost couldn't believe this was happening, but he couldn't really think of much at all in the first place, so the thought fluttered away into the back of his mind.

 

 

Koushiro bit his bottom lip before his jaw went slack and breathy sighs loosely fell from his mouth. The feeling of Taichi being inside of him was better than he had imagined. Yes, he was still adjusting to the girth of his friend and there was still a slight discomfort and the first couple of thrusts did sting and burn some, but the overall feeling was incredible. He looked at the brunet with half lidded eyes as he rolled his hips and with a bit of assistance began sliding up and down on Taichi's hard length. He held onto the tan shoulders in front of him and angled himself slightly where each time he landed his prostate was hit causing his eyes to roll back and a new string of moans.   
  
"Ahh... T-Tai-chi! I...!" he groaned out as he felt his friend matching his thrusts and pounded into his prostate mercilessly. It was beginning to become way too much for Koushiro. He could feel a heat coiling in his abdomen and his skin catching fire. His head lulled back and rolled across his shoulders. He didn't want this to end. He had never experienced so much earth shattering pleasure in his life and the thought of it ending was something Koushiro wasn't prepared for.  
  
He leaned forward and latched onto Taichi's swollen lips once more to continue the fiery assault, moaning carelessly into his mouth. His eyes squeezed shut as his hands touched any and every part of Taichi's chest that he could before gripping into his hair. He could feel his climax quickly approaching and decided at the last minute to change positions. He rolled off his friend's lap and pulled the brunet on top of him, waiting until this moment to break their kiss.   
  
"Taichi," he panted "now," his voice was husky and coated with lust. It wasn't common for Koushiro to speak this way. In fact he has never spoken this way. But something in him, almost animalistic and primal made him want to say some things he would normally deem vulgar. He held it back as best as he could and but nearly lost it when Taichi slammed back into him, all the way to the hilt. Which in all honesty he was amazed he had lasted this long, but soon he would be eating those words.   
  
His body moved on its own, wrapping his legs around his friend's tan waist and arms around his shoulders, "Ahh..!" He cried out as Taichi started hitting that spot again until the point it was becoming unbearable. His thoughts were lost and all he could say was a mantra of Taichi's name that lazily slipped from his mouth.

 

 

Taichi was yanked back to reality along with his body as Koushiro pulled him over top of him. He tried to get his brain to focus on what was happening, but his body's needs were easily clouding all of his attempts. Seeing Koushiro's desperate expression didn't help him think about his actions, and neither did the closeness of their bodies.  
  
Without a second thought, Taichi pressed back into the other boy, hissing with pleasure the entire way. Feeling his friend's legs wrapping around his hips only encouraged another animalistic growl to escape his throat, and his body to start rocking in and out.  
  
Taichi panted and gripped tightly at Koushiro's hair, pulling the boy's head back to give him easy access to his throat. He let his teeth drag along the skin, biting down softly. Not enough to hurt him, but enough to feel it. Then he sucked hard on the skin, allowing the inevitable welt to form in his wake. His free arm clutched at the boy's sweat-coated back, dragging his nails down the skin in the same way he had with his teeth. He'd allowed Koushiro to dominate this exchange for far too long. It was his turn now.  
  
With a husky chuckle in Koushiro's ear, he began thrusting back into him. He angled himself just right to hit the boy's spot hard and quickly. He could tell his friend was close with the way he shivered beneath him.  
  
"Mmm... Ko-sh-ro..." Taichi managed to hiss as he went back to the boy's lips, not letting go of the hair. His free hand was no longer on the boy's back, but on his member instead. He pumped along with the thrusts, determined to make Koushiro come first.

 

 

If this were any other situation, there would have been a good chance of Koushiro to sock Taichi in the throat for yanking at his hair. However this was not any regular situation and despite the slight discomfort that was caused it was easily forgotten. His nails dug into the brunet's shoulders, leaving eight deep crescent marks as he felt the warmth within his belly return. His eyes were slammed shut as Taichi assaulted his neck, knowing well that this would definitely leave a mark on him, but if he had to capability of guessing it was as if Taichi was marking him as property.   
  
Soon all attempts of thinking became too much of a chore and was near impossible to do. His eyes snapped open as his friend grabbed his painfully hard cock and fiercely stroked along with the merciless pounding of his prostrate.  
  
"Hah..! Ta..! Oh my god!" he cried as he buried his face into the tanned junction of Taichi's neck and shoulder. It was too much. Way too much, but he didn't want this to end. For a moment he considered trying to change positions again but by the way Taichi held him it wasn't possible and before he could even attempt that's when it happened. That hot, burning coil within him snapped and his body when momentarily numb before the most intense euphoria washed over him.   
  
His entire body tensed up as every single nerve was tingling and his vision went out for a moment. Koushiro latched tightly onto his friend as he cried out, still feeling Taichi slamming into him and his hand matching the movements, milking him of an impressive amount of seed that splashed between their bodies.   
  
It felt like a thousand years went by as he rode out his euphoric high. Never in his life had he ever came as hard as he had. It was the type of high he could easily see himself becoming addicted to.

 

  
            Taichi could feel the very moment when Koushiro came beneath him. The tight skin that was already around his member suddenly clenched up harder than before. Taichi gasped and felt himself nearing climax quickly. The look on the other boy's face and the warm, sticky feeling that suddenly spread between them sent a new kind of satisfaction up Taichi's spine, and he clenched his eyes shut.  
  
After grabbing Koushiro's ass firmly, he slammed down into him and panted harder and harder with each thrust. With the boy beneath him still clenching hard around him from his own orgasm, Taichi couldn't take it any longer. He arched his back and leaned forward, moaning loudly into his friend's neck.  
  
"F-Fuck!" Taichi felt shivers run up his body as he came. He'd never felt anything like this before. Certainly he'd touched himself many times and watched all kinds of sexual videos to help enjoy it more, but actually doing it for real like this was just so much more. He'd dated plenty of girls and made out a few times, but he'd never gone this far with any of them.  
  
For a little bit, Taichi found himself gasping for air. Not for long though, as he did manage to quickly even out his breathing and heart rate. He was sweating like crazy and his head felt light. He managed to prop himself up on his arms eventually and look down at Koushiro, who was still lying beneath him.  
  
It occurred to Taichi then, but only vaguely as his mind was still in a haze, that he wasn't entirely sure what to do now...

 

 

Sure it felt odd having Taichi come inside of him but it was also a pretty satisfying filling sensation at the same time. Never in his life had he ever thought this moment would happen. He thought it would forever remain a dream he secretly wished would come true, but here they were.   
  
Koushiro leaned back onto the messy bed, his breathing was still a bit harsh and he was covered in sweat, among other things. He's dark eyes focused on the body above him. The brunet's hair was messier than it normally was; parts of it were matted down with perspiration and also sticking to his forehead. He was breathing heavily, obviously recovering from his orgasm.   
  
He wanted to smile at him and tell him for great it was. He wanted Taichi to say the same. He wanted to tell him he loved him and they could cuddle until they fell asleep and wake up the next morning sore but pleased that they had moved forward in their relationship. He truly wanted this. However when he looked in Taichi's eyes he didn't see any of this being a potential outcome. The look he saw in his eyes was one of pure confusion with a touch of loss.   
  
However, he understood it completely. As his mind started to return back to reality and he could start thinking straight, a thought had occurred to him. A thought that he didn't want to be true: Maybe we made a mistake.   
  
Everything was so perfect at the time and they obviously held feelings for each other, right? Surely, Taichi felt something for him other than friendship; he just had sex with him. He willingly lost his virginity to Koushiro. Didn't that mean something? He wasn't just using him to feel the void of not having Yamato or Sora around like he normally did, was he? Oh gods, please don't let that be the case. Please say he had read all the signals right.   
  
Koushiro's eyes focused back on Taichi as he crawled off of him, letting out a small hiss as he felt his friend remove himself, and settled on the other side of the bed, neither of them still speaking to one another. Taichi was normally more talkative and he kind of worried him how silent he was being. He didn't want to ask him about it, he just let them sit in the awkward silence that seemed to be caught in the air around them. What do you honestly say in a situation like this? ‘ _Great sex! High five!'?_  
  
He hoped and prayed Taichi would come up with the something soon because he was drawing a blank and his thoughts weren't making him feel any better.  


 

Taichi allowed himself a moment or two to catch his breath. He wasn't sure how to feel or what to do. He hadn't intended for this to happen, or to enjoy it as much as he had. And since this was his first time he didn't know what to do afterward. What should he say to Koushiro now? Should he tell him how much he liked it? He wanted to, but... how did you go about saying that? He'd always really cared for Koushiro, and after this... he really didn't want to mess it up.  
  
However, before Taichi could figure out how to sort his thoughts, he realized that Koushiro seemed upset. Almost... angry? Why was he like that? Had Koushiro not liked it after all? Had Taichi done something wrong?  
  
As Taichi pulled out, he noticed the way Koushiro cringed and hissed. Guilt immediately stung his heart and he tried to at least be quick about it. Once he was done he sat at the end of the bed, feeling more confused than ever.  
  
How had he managed to mess this all up so badly? He'd just done what he thought was right, but... He didn't actually know how Koushiro felt. He'd given in to his feelings and emotions without thinking anything through. He hadn't actually made sure he knew what Koushiro was thinking before acting, he'd just started teasing him and then... He'd pressured Koushiro into doing this, hadn't he? Koushiro probably hadn't wanted to, but Taichi had worked so hard to turn him on and then...  
  
God he was a fucking idiot. Now Koushiro looked so upset, and it was his entire fault... His best friend probably didn't even want to look at him anymore.  
  
"I-I... uh..." Taichi trailed off, his voice cutting out a bit so he cleared his throat. "I'm gonna go get some water, or... something."  
  
Taichi sighed and stood up, dressing quickly before he walked out of the room, unable to face his friend anymore.

 

 

It was nearly heartbreaking watching Taichi quickly get dressed and walk out of the room, but Koushiro didn't try stopping him despite the fact that he really wanted to. He just let him go without saying a word because he honestly had nothing he could say that would probably make this situation any better. He took a moment to reflect on what had happened, because it happened so quickly. He came over to talk to his friend and fix his computer, how the hell did they get to this point?  
  
He wanted to ask him what the kiss they had shared the other night meant and if it was just something they got caught up in even though he didn't think it was possible to actually get so caught up in something you acted without a second thought. He never had abandoned thought and reason and let his body take over like it had until Taichi's teasing had begun.   
  
But now here he was, naked, save for a sheet he had pulled over himself, in Taichi's bed covered in his and Taichi's sweat and other bodily fluids and wondering what happens now. They had sex and there was no taking it back. All he can try to figure out is where they stand and where to go from here.   
  
Koushiro knew Taichi had been upset for a long time about Yamato and Sora, he heard him gripe about it on almost a daily basis and the brunet still harbored feelings for the two of them, but he wasn't sure if he was still in love with them or just so used to being upset about them being together his behavior is like an automatic response. He secretly prayed he wasn't still in love with them, but let's face the facts.  
  
Whenever they were in the digital world Taichi always had a bad habit of leaving him out unless Yamato and Sora were out of the picture. It did hurt his feelings, even though he's moved passed it now. It was strange how all that worked because he and Taichi always got along way better than he did with Yamato, sure they fault, but not nearly as much and when they did they never stayed mad for very long.   
  
After the last and final time the gate sealed between the two worlds, they had grown even closer and nearly inseparable at times. Now all he could think about is how badly he has destroyed that relationship.   
  
With a sigh Koushiro pulled off the sheet and walked down the hall to the bathroom to clean himself off good enough until he could get back to his apartment and shower properly. As he wiped away the drying seed from his stomach with a wet wash cloth he looked in the mirror and noticed the angry marks forming on his neck. 'Wonderful,' he thought sarcastically as he traced one with the pad of his index finger. It was almost painful to look at. Gods, how could he have been so stupid?!  
  
He could hear Taichi rustling around in the kitchen and knew the Child of Courage had to have regretted this as much as he did. Well, maybe regret isn't the best choice in words. More like scared of what Taichi was going to say. He didn't think he could bear hearing his friend confirming everything he had been thinking. Koushiro just wished he had the opportunity to think things through before he acted. He always hated running into things without thinking them through and this is why.   
  
That's why when he made it back to Taichi's room he quickly got dressed, not even bothering with making sure he looked worthy of the public eye. He just needed to leave now before he upset himself even more. He had always thought losing his virginity (especially to Taichi) would be an incredible and beautiful thing that would leave him on cloud nine for days only to have to total opposite happen and all he wanted to do now was to leave. The pain in his chest was becoming too great.   
  
_'Of course he doesn't have feelings like that for me. He can't even stay in the same room with me now,'_ he thought, feeling the tears welling up in his eyes but refused to let them fall, 'You are a fool, Koushiro.'  
  
As he finished getting his pants on, he made his way out of the room only to meet Taichi in the doorway. His facial expression hadn't changed much, but that didn't matter anymore. They both obviously had a lot to think about. He felt hurt over the possibility of Taichi using him, but figured having him confirm it would hurt him more than any digimon ever could.

  


Seeing how upset Koushiro clearly was caused a pang of regret to sting Taichi's heart. Getting a drink of water had helped a bit, he'd just needed to calm his nerves or something. But coming back to his best friend looking so... so... He honestly wasn't sure what Koushiro looked like, but it clearly wasn't happy. He was upset at what they'd done, wasn't he?  
  
Taichi didn't know what to say or do, and found himself frozen in place instead. He tried to form words and speak his mind, about how much he'd honestly enjoyed it, but trying to say it to Koushiro while he looked so filled with regret was just... too much. The words wouldn't come out.  
  
Thoughts of Yamato and Sora came back to him, but not in the same way that they normally did. He'd been upset about them for a very long time, but the person who had always listened to him was Koushiro. No matter how annoying he was being, and even Taichi could admit how irritating he must have been at times, Koushiro had never lost his patience with him. He just stood by his side and gave him advice, which Taichi rarely took because he was just too stubborn.  
  
Koushiro mattered so much to him. He couldn't lose him to this mistake! No, no, no... He had to fix this somehow! If Koushiro didn't want to be more than friends, which his expression was clearly indicating, then that was okay... right?  
  
Taichi felt a very familiar stab of sadness in his heart, and it quickly scared him. He knew that feeling... Why was he feeling heartbroken over this? He didn't... Koushiro wasn't... They were friends, and that was good enough, wasn't it?  
  
Why did it have to suddenly hurt so much to think of them as just being friends again? Damn it! HE WOULD NOT fall in love again! Not with Koushiro, no! Every time he fell in love with someone it just hurt so much in the long run, and in the end, he always lost. Sora and Yamato both, while he was certainly still friends with them, it just wasn't the same. They'd never been quite as close after they'd rejected his feelings. If he lost Koushiro too then he'd have nothing!  
  
And for fucks sake he needed to SAY SOMETHING!  
  
"Y-You okay?" Taichi finally managed to say. His mind was spinning and he felt a little nauseous. "I'm sorry if it hurt..."

  


It was so painfully obvious by the stare of Taichi's eyes that he was just as lost as he was or maybe they were just filled with remorse, who knows. He could see the furrowing of the dark brows that mixed in hints of sadness as well. He wanted to know if he was reading his friend's face correctly or not. The underlining truth of what was really bouncing around within the brunet's mind. It would be simple to ask and he probably should have, but the realm of possible answers was something he couldn't bear to face. It hurt because it felt as if the second the two separated it was as if their friendship and everything they had together did as well.   
  
The first time Koushiro realized what true feelings he held for his friend was back during their encounters with the Dark Masters. Their team had been split and Hikari had fallen ill once again. It had been up to him and Taichi to retrieve medicine for her, but had quickly fallen into trouble. He had seen Taichi break, truly break, over the love and fear he had for his sister. Something about his raw emotions laying out for all to see drew Koushiro to him. He never wanted to see him that upset again. He wanted to take his pain and guilt and worry away from him, because he realized at that moment how much he enjoyed when Taichi smiled or laughed.   
  
For years he kept those feeling put away into a dark secret corner of his mind and shrouded it with denial. He never wanted to accept it because he knew Taichi's heart would never be his since it was already torn between two other people. When Taichi would come to his place to vent out his despair over his lost loves, Koushiro would happily offer him advice and comfort. He knew that if he didn't hold his friend's heart that he could at least try to make him happy, no matter that pain it caused himself. He wanted Taichi happy.   
  
Now with all torn to pieces and lying at his feet, all he could do was stare at the metaphorical shards as they seemed to dissolve and vanish. This was his doing. He didn't think about what would happen if he allowed himself to act without proper planning. Acting without a plan was dangerous because you aren't prepared for when it all goes wrong and you are stuck without a plan B.   
  
His dark eyes could barely hold their gaze at the figure in front on him. He knows Taichi is concerned about his well-being. He isn't physically hurt, only a bit sore from his body being stretched open in places and in ways it hadn't really ever been before, but that is expected after what had happened. However he wasn't really in the mood for conversation, even though it's probably what he should be doing. All he wanted to do was go home and shower and sleep for the next 100 years.   
  
"I'm fine," he finally said, voice scratchy from his earlier vocals. Man he really needed something to drink. He cleared his throat and stood straighter, "Bye, Taichi."   
  
He felt bad not adding the '-san' to the end despite how many times he was scolded by his friend to stop doing it, this time thought, it felt so empty and heartless. It didn't feel like he was symbolizing a close friendship or a lover.   
  
He knew this day and his visit would look bad in the eyes of others, hell it looked bad to him— coming over and sleeping with his friend only to walk out after it was done—but he couldn't stay any longer.   
  
Koushiro brushed passed his friend, keeping his eyes to the ground and walked out the door. He wasn't sure if he had heard Taichi calling to him or if it was just wishful thinking. Knowing his current luck, wishful thinking was the better bet. That echo of his friend's voice and this current of chaos was enough to rattle anyone's mind. He would have given anything to have Taichi ask him to stay but that moment was over. It felt like he was walking through waist deep water, his legs moving at a snail’s pace and his legs felt unsteady and heavy. Why did the front door seem so much further away than normal?   
  
The walk to his car was just as slow and unforgiving as the walk out of the apartment, not to mention that anyone he passed by on the way down he felt knew what was going on. It was almost as if he had it tattooed on his face.  
  
Once he found refuge in his car he just stared blankly out the windshield, his mind stuck in a loop and replaying everything over and over again. His chest was tight and his hands were gripping tightly on the wheel. He wanted to break down a cry right there, but no matter how much it hurt, he had no right to cry this time. This was his doing and his fault. So he held himself together and went home.

  


If Taichi hadn't been so upset at that moment, he may have actually laughed at the irony of the situation; hearing that trademark "-san" missing from his name after how many times he'd encouraged Koushiro to remove it hurt a lot more than he would have expected. His best friend had finally done it, he'd finally just called him "Taichi", but for the exact opposite reason as what Taichi had hoped for. Similar to his name, it was as if a chuck of their friendship was now missing, and on top of that it was about to walk out the front door.  
  
"Koushiro!" Taichi called after him, but his friend didn't react in the slightest. There was no way he hadn't heard him, but even so he'd simply walked out of the apartment without any more than a curt goodbye. Any thoughts in Taichi's mind that perhaps he was misunderstanding Koushiro's feelings were now long gone, along with his friend.  
  
What did this mean for them? Would things be really awkward now after everything that had just happened? Would they drift away until they only saw each other at reunions, like with some of the other Chosen? At least with Jyou and Mimi it wasn't because of something messing up their relationship with him. Mimi had simply moved really far away, and Jyou was so busy with school that he barely even made it to the reunions half the time as it was. Mimi seemed to show up more often than him, which was really saying something. Would Koushiro stop going because Taichi was there now?  
  
Taichi felt tears in his eyes. He wanted to believe that he was just overreacting, but after the way Koushiro had just walked out... He knew his best friend very well, and as much as he wanted to run after him or call him desperately, he knew that Koushiro would want space. He didn't react the same way to things as Taichi - Taichi always wanted to confront everything in the face as soon as he could, while Koushiro needed to get his thoughts together first. If he didn't give him the space he wanted he's surely only make it worse, wouldn't he?  
  
After wiping his eyes dry, Taichi walked over to one of the cabinets in the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. Yeah, sure, maybe he shouldn't drink when he was upset, but he really didn't care about what he should or shouldn't do anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are not required but very much appreciated!


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